Taming the Third Lion Book 1: Exodus
by Michael Rakimi
Summary: An AU fic of Digimon Tamers set in northern England.  Rated T for occasional bad language.
1. Prologue and Chapter One

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any of the characters featured in the series, video games or other Digimon-based media. I also do not own the video games "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames" (which I quoted from in Chapter 3), Armored Core: For Answer (which is referenced or included in a few chapters) or any other video games, books, films or TV shows I mention. I do, however, own any original characters that I created myself (such as Cam, Steph and others that I won't mention just yet) and the storyline.

I would also like to state that Kirkfield, Recliff High School and Redchapel Middle School are all completely fictional. I invented them myself as an amalgamation of several towns and schools in my area. Any resemblance to any real individuals either living or dead is purely coincidental (and most of the people I know are too one-dimensional to make interesting characters out of anyway...).

With that said, let me get onto the story itself. This is an AU fic (wait, don't shoot me yet!) based on the characters and, more loosely, on the universe established in the series Digimon Tamers. It is set primarily in Kirkfield, a fictional town not far from the real-life city of Bradford in the north of England. There is a backstory to this universe based VERY loosely on the events of Digital Monster X-Evolution that will be explored in a later chapter (somewhere around chapters 25-30).

With that said, I hope you enjoy my attempt at a Digimon Fanfic. Please feel free to read and review, though do note that I have disabled anonymous reviewing in an attempt to cut down on the number of flames I receive.

* * *

**TAMING THE THIRD LION**

**BOOK I: EXODUS**

**Prologue: Violet Eyes**

Thursday, 21st July 2010 – 00:21am

Matsuki Family Bakery, Kirkfield, West Yorkshire

Takato Matsuki tossed and turned in his bed, far too excited to sleep. _I can't believe it! Six whole weeks of freedom! Beautiful, glorious FREEDOM! _The twelve-year-old had just finished his first year at Redcliff Mount High School and was looking forward to a break from the day-to-day stress of school life. _Six weeks of no homework! Six weeks of no early mornings! Six weeks of no bullies or chavs or lunchtime beatings! I'm finally gonna have time to get past that stupid Devidramon on Digimon World! And I can go swimming! And camping! And fishing! And…_

The mental list grew longer and longer as Takato fantasized about how he was going to spend his Summer Holidays – or, as his friend Cam had jokingly dubbed the six-week period, Summer Parole. As his fantasies began to drift away from the realms of possibility and into the realms of science-fiction (which didn't take very long at all) Takato began to feel incredibly drowsy. As his eyes slowly drifted closed, an intensely bright white light blanketed the boy's vision, obscuring his view of the dimly-lit bedroom.

* * *

When Takato opened his eyes again, he was floating in mid-air above a distinctive double-towered skyscraper.

_Hey, I recognize this place – this is Shinjuku! My parents showed me pictures of this place – they said this was where they used to live before they moved to England. That means this is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building! And there's the park, the ocean, the Devimon…_

_Wait! WHAT?_

Sure enough, stood atop the tower to Takato's left in the middle of a rapidly-dispersing cloud of fog was the tall, black, winged form of a Devimon. The Digimon rolled its head from side to side in a manner that reminded Takato of the stereotypical American hard man found in every mediocre gang-related film or TV show. As he watched with a curious sense of detachment, a brown-haired Japanese girl and a Leomon burst through the door behind the Devimon. The girl, who was about the same age as Takato and wearing an odd green dress, pointed at the Devimon and shouted something that Takato couldn't quite make out. It was as if her words were coming to him from a great distance, or were being muffled by something. Devimon grinned and replied, his voice equally muffled. Whatever he said did a great job of getting the Leomon angry. The leonine warrior drew his sword and threw himself at the fallen angel with a snarl, only to be caught mid-pounce by a wave of dark energy which sent him flying through the air to the edge of the roof.

Devimon chuckled darkly and began walking slowly over to the bloodied form of Leomon, who was trying and failing to get back up. As he raised his right hand above his head and delivered one last jibe, a dark aura began to form around the long talons. Takato felt a vague sense of fear and helplessness as he gazed at the Devimon stood poised to end the valiant lion's life, until an oddly clear and loud voice called out from behind him, causing both boy and Digimon to turn and look at the opposite tower.

"GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!"

Takato looked to the roof of the other tower to see a pale, redheaded girl with her hair in an odd spiky ponytail wearing jeans and a white T-shirt stood next to the graceful form of a Renamon. An intense beam of white light shone from the screen of the strange silver and blue device in her right hand, and the Renamon was encased in a blue Data Sphere, which soon shattered to reveal a nine-tailed quadrupedal kitsune which Takato recognized as Kyubimon. The fox began running towards the gap between the two towers as the girl slashed two cards through her device in quick succession.

"**Digi-Modify! Light Training Manual activate! Power Activate!**"

As soon as the words had left the girl's mouth, Kyubimon somersaulted into the air and shouted "**Dragon Wheel!**" before bursting into blue flames. The fire assumed the shape of a roaring dragon before thundering into the chest of a very surprised Devimon. The fallen angel let out a scream of denial before bursting into shards of data, which were quickly absorbed by the wounded Leomon. As the brown-haired girl ran over to her now-healed partner, Takato looked back to the redhead on the right-hand tower. The girl shifted uncomfortably, and then looked straight at him, narrowing her eyes as if searching for some incredibly distant object. When her gaze met his, Takato's vision was filled by a pair of cold yet beautiful violet eyes. He shuddered under their scrutiny, unable to look away as they bored deep into his very soul…

* * *

"GAH!"

THUD

Takato groaned as he dragged himself off of the floor and back into his bed, before letting out another yelp and falling out of bed for a second time when he saw the time on his alarm clock.

_11:47? Aw, crap! I was meant to man the till for the morning rush! Why the hell didn't mum wake me up?_

The flustered young boy quickly pulled on his favourite outfit – a plain white T-shirt, a pair of khaki cargo pants and a blue zip-up hoody – before rushing downstairs into the kitchen part of the Matsuki Family Bakery.

"Well, look who FINALLY decided to drag themselves out of bed!" shrieked the angry voice of Mei Matsuki – Takato's mother.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!" he gasped breathlessly as he rushed towards the shop front before tripping over the backpack lying abandoned in the middle of the floor, landing flat on his face at his mother's feet.

"Will you PLEASE move that thing? How many times do I have to tell you about leaving your stuff lying around?"

"Sorry!" the boy yelped, grabbing the offending backpack and throwing it into the closet underneath the stairs.

"Now, will you go and relieve your father at the till? I need some help back here!"

"Yes ma'am!" Takato limped towards the shop section of the bakery just in time to see his father, Takehiro, hand a bag full of Cornish pasties to a frail-looking, grey-haired old woman who the boy immediately recognized as his Geography teacher. When the eccentric old bat had finally walked out of the door, Takato breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into view.

"Hey, dad."

"Well, well – look who finally decided to show up!" the elder Matsuki grinned playfully, stepping aside to let his son take his place at the till.

"Hehe, yeah, sorry about that. Why didn't you guys wake me up earlier?"

With a massive laugh, Takehiro began walking back to the kitchen. "Are you kidding me? We tried for about ten minutes! Your mother even beat you round the head with a pillow, but you still wouldn't wake up! She was torn between calling a doctor and smothering you with it."

"Oh, right, sorry…I was having this…REALLY weird dream…" Takato shook his head at the memory as if trying to shake it loose from his head.

"Anything to do with _'Violet Eyes'_?" his father asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, how did you…?"

"You kept mumbling something about _'Violet Eyes' _and _'so cold'._"

"Huh, weird…"

With that, Takato was left alone with his thoughts. Try as he might, he couldn't get the sight of those cold, piercing eyes out of his head for the rest of the day.

* * *

**Chapter One: Jet Lag**

Monday, 23rd August 2010 – 10:05 pm

Leeds-Bradford Airport, West Yorkshire

The massive, four-engined passenger jet rumbled slowly to a stop as it touched down on the rain-soaked runway at Leeds-Bradford airport. Moonlight gleamed off of its sodden white hull and the red sun logo emblazoned on its wings and tail fins as the Boeing 747 began to taxi slowly towards the main terminal. In the cabin, the speakers squawked out the generic "Welcome to England, thank you for flying with Japan Airlines, remain seated until the light goes out" message.

_'It's been a pleasure' my ass,_ thought a pale-skinned Japanese girl with red hair tied up in a spiky ponytail sat in the first class section of the plane. _He's given that same stupid speech so many times he probably recites it in his sleep!_

The girl gazed mournfully out of the window at her new home country, misery and contempt radiating from her violet eyes. There wasn't much to see, partly due to the fact that they were at an airport in the middle of nowhere, and partly due to the torrential rainstorm that had started mere minutes before the plane had landed.

_At least the weather is just as unpredictable as back home… _The thought of Shinjuku, her home for the first twelve years of her life, ignited the firestorm that was Rika Nonaka's legendary temper. Clenching her fists, she directed her rage at the cause of the sudden move.

_How DARE she? I FINALLY had something that really mattered to me – I'd even started making FRIENDS – when she decides to drag me halfway across the world just to ease her guilty conscience! _A wave of sadness quickly overwhelmed the rage in the girl's heart as she thought of her mother's frequent absence.

Four months ago, Rika's mother – Rumiko Nonaka, one of the most successful and well-paid models in Japan – had moved to London in an attempt to break into the western market. After two months, London had been very kind to her, and Rumiko immediately began making plans to move her immediate family – her mother, Seiko Hata and daughter, Rika – over to England. She had ordered a house to be built for the pair in Kirkfield – a small town in the county of West Yorkshire, about two hundred miles north of London – which was, according to Rumiko, a much better environment to raise a child in than "a city full of teenage thugs, slime ball politicians and backstabbing bureaucrats".

"It's not like she was ever around anyway…" Rika whispered to herself, her voice barely audible over the chatter of passengers easy to get off of the massive aircraft.

"Rika…" the brown-haired, slightly darker-skinned woman sat to the redhead's left sighed and placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Rika cursed silently, having momentarily forgotten about her grandmother's excellent hearing. "You know she only wants what's best for you. And who knows – maybe a fresh start will do us all some good."

_I DIDN'T WANT A FRESH START!_ Rika screamed mentally, not trusting herself to speak. She couldn't tell either her mother or grandmother about her newly-found happiness with her old life – not without revealing exactly what all of those sudden "late night strolls" were about. And gods forbid that they were ever to find out the truth behind the so-called "hit-and-run attack" that had hospitalized her for the first week of June.

"And at least this way you _will_ be able to see her a lot more often…" Seiko said softly, dissipating her granddaughter's rapidly-building rage.

_How does she do that?_ Rika wondered idly. Her grandmother always seemed to know exactly what to say to disarm her violent temper. This time she had touched on an issue that – while she would never let anyone know it – meant a lot to Rika. It was the one good thing (in Rika's eyes, at least) about the move. Her mother had only been able to visit them in Japan once every six to eight weeks, with her last visit having ended over five weeks ago. They had, of course, spoken over the phone regularly, but it wasn't the same. Rika just couldn't escape that basic instinct, that basic need of all children. As much as they argued, Rika missed her mother.

"Plus she's meeting us at the house, and she managed to get the whole week off work to help us settle in."

Rika allowed a tiny, almost invisible smile to grace her features for a very brief moment before picking up her small blue and white backpack as the plane finally came to a stop. Standing up, she swung the bag over her shoulder and fell in behind her grandmother, making her way towards the exit.

* * *

Meanwhile, a group of overworked and underpaid airport workers dressed in fluorescent orange jackets began the slow task of unloading the massive amount of luggage from the JAL aircraft. Unnoticed by their tired eyes, a shadow dropped from the rear cargo door and swiftly melted away into thin air, reappearing about ten seconds later on top of the main terminal building. The shadow stood there for a moment savouring the fresh air, revealing a six-foot tall vaguely humanoid silhouette with a long, bushy tail before leaping into the air and vanishing once again. This time the shadow appeared between two cars parked outside the main terminal building. With a brief flash of light, the humanoid silhouette reformed into a fox-like shape slightly larger than the average house cat. The fox-creature looked around cautiously, making sure that it hadn't been noticed, before running stealthily towards a black limousine parked outside the terminal's main entrance, slipping under the long car and hiding between the rear wheels, waiting for the perfect opportunity…

* * *

11:25pm

_Finally!_ Rika thought as she stepped out into the rainy August night, relishing the whole three seconds it took the bland-looking hired chauffeur to recognize her and shield her with the large black umbrella in his hand. Despite their status as first class passengers, it had taken well over an hour to get through customs and to claim their meagre baggage – one small suitcase each for Rika and her grandmother. The rest of their baggage had been sent ahead in advance, allowing the housekeeping staff to prepare the house for its new residents.

"Good evening Miss Nonaka, Ms Hata. My name is George and I will be your chauffeur this evening," the bland man said in an English accent taken straight from a production of "Pride and Prejudice".

"Good evening, George. I'm sorry for the delay, we got held up at passport control," Seiko replied politely, her English flawless.

George blinked. He had never had a customer _apologize_ for being late before. Rant and rave? Oh, yes. Curse and scream? Happened all the time. Spout empty threats toward the offending party? An everyday occurrence. But an apology? George was shocked! Thanks to his many years of experience, however, he managed to recover quickly.

"It's quite alright ma'am, it wasn't your fault. Besides, I had a good book and a light in the car. Now, if you'll let me take your bags…" he said, reaching out for Rika's small blue suitcase.

"I can carry my own bags," the fiery-tempered redhead growled in perfect English, glaring at the practically-faceless man. The chauffeur backed off and Rika walked out from under the umbrella, dragging her suitcase behind her and leaving George conflicted as to which of his charges he should shield from the rain. In his confusion, he wisely opted to stay where he was and protect the elder of his charges from the harsh English rain.

Rika stomped over to the rear of the limousine and opened the boot, relishing the feel of the rain on her skin and in her hair. She lifted both her suitcase and backpack into the boot, then turned and gave the poor, confused chauffeur one last glare. As Rika turned her back on the open boot, a small fox-like shadow quickly shot out from under the car and wormed its way into the girl's backpack before zipping it up from the inside in a surprising show of manual dexterity for a creature with paws. This shadow went unnoticed by any of those present – Rika because she was turned away, Seiko and George because Rika was blocking their view of the rear of the car. With a soft "humph!" the now-sodden girl turned and opened the car door, slumping gracelessly onto the grotesquely comfortable leather seats and leaving the boot open for the chauffeur and her grandmother.

With an apologetic smile, Seiko allowed George to take her suitcase before climbing into the car with a good deal more grace than her granddaughter, restoring a semblance of order to the chauffeur's small world.

* * *

Tuesday 24th August 2010 – 1:15am

Nonaka Residence, Kirkfield

The limousine finally arrived in Kirkfield at 1:15am – nearly two hours after leaving the airport. While the journey to Kirkfield would not have normally taken anything like as long, the poor weather and unexpected closure of the motorway had forced their overworked chauffeur to make use of a number of obscure shortcuts and winding country roads. Rika gazed out of the tinted windows, and as the car pulled into the long, cherry tree-lined driveway leading to the Nonaka residence her breath was taken away by the sight that greeted her.

The Nonaka residence consisted of a sprawling, horseshoe-shaped two-storey house built in the traditional Japanese style and surrounded by more than two acres of verdant woodland. The house itself was only a few square feet away from being classified as a mansion. Rika tuned in to the overview George was giving of the property, and was shocked to hear that her mother actually _owned_ the forest around the house. She snorted and shook her head as he went on to describe the oversized Koi pond and beautifully kept Zen garden located at the back of the property.

_Fresh start? Yeah, right…_ she thought sarcastically. The whole property reminded her of a scaled-up version of the refurbished Shinto temple that had been her home in Shinjuku. Shaking off her nostalgic mood, Rika hauled herself out of the leather seat with a massive effort of will. She made her way to the back of the car, where George wisely allowed her to retrieve her own bags before picking up Seiko's small brown suitcase. As the trio made their way up the neatly paved path leading to the house's main entrance, the young girl felt her spirits lifting a little as each step brought her closer to the one part of this fiasco she had been looking forward to. Her good mood peaked as the large wooden double-doors opened and a figure appeared silhouetted against the light spilling out into the night…

Only for her hopes to be dashed as the silhouette resolved itself as a short, slightly plump European woman of about thirty-five.

"Miss Nonaka! Ms Hata!" the brown-haired woman began in a soft Irish accent, trotting swiftly towards them. "My name is Miranda and I am your housekeeper."

"Pleased to meet you, Miranda. And please, call me Seiko – Ms Hata sounds too formal for someone who I'll be seeing practically every day!" Seiko replied cheerfully, despite knowing exactly what the next words to come out of the Irish woman's mouth would be.

"Of course…Seiko. I'm sorry to have to start on such a bad note, but your daughter has asked me to inform you that she was unavoidably held up in London and will be unable to make it back until Wednesday evening at the earliest."

As the words left the housekeeper's mouth, Seiko glanced sympathetically at her granddaughter, noticing the distant look and slumped shoulders. Rika felt a familiar wave of despair overwhelm her emotional defences, her eyes wet with unshed tears as she glared at the floor. She vaguely felt a comforting arm being placed around her shoulders as her legs began to move on autopilot.

* * *

"Here's your room Rika," Seiko said softly, waking Rika from her reverie. She blinked and looked around, noticing that she was now inside and on the upper floor of her new home. In front of her was an open sliding door, revealing a bedroom that, with the exception of an added en suite bathroom, was a carbon-copy of her old one in Shinjuku. "If you need me I'll be in the kitchen making a late-night snack."

Rika nodded and took her suitcase from a decidedly nervous-looking George, dragging it into the spacious room and closing the sliding door behind her. She dumped the case and her backpack in a corner and threw herself face-down onto the lilac futon in the middle of the room. After a few seconds, when the footsteps of her grandmother, George and Miranda had receded into the distance, the blue and white backpack began rustling. Within a few seconds, the zip was undone and a golden-furred fox-like creature poked its head out of the bag. The fox-creature began to glow white and it quickly leapt out of the bag, its form changing and enlarging into a much taller, more humanoid form.

Renamon rolled her shoulders slowly, loosening her muscles after the long journey in the small backpack. While her rare ability to revert to her In-training form at will was very useful, it caused a build-up of energy that needed to be released at least once every eighteen hours. As the energy built up, it became harder and harder for her to prevent re-digivolution to Rookie. The energy release could be anything from a fight to a long run. Unfortunately, trapped in the cargo hold of a Boeing 747, Renamon hadn't had much to fight with. As her gaze fell upon the human girl in the middle of the room, the kitsune's expression softened almost imperceptibly and she padded silently over to the futon, reaching out one paw and stroking her Tamer's shoulder comfortingly while simultaneously reaching out with her mind.

_"Rika…" _she sighed telepathically, her voice feminine and mature.

The girl didn't reply, but Renamon knew that she had heard. Rika was busy doing what she always did when something like this happened – forcing her emotions back down into the icy prison she usually kept them in. After ten long minutes, she rolled off of the futon and climbed to her feet, heading towards the en suite.

"I need a shower," she muttered, closing the door before undressing and turning on the shower, making sure the water was as hot as she could bear it. She stood there unmoving under the jet of steaming hot water as if trying to wash away the troubles of the past twenty-four hours.

Twenty minutes later, Rika stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a towel and her red sweatbands. Renamon had noticed that she never let anyone – especially, it seemed, her family or Renamon herself – see her without them. She was even more sensitive about that detail than she was with being seen with her hair down. The kitsune Digimon often found herself curious as to why these two were such an issue to the young girl, but had sensed that it would be unwise to ask about it.

Pulling on a pair of violet pyjamas from her already well-stocked wardrobe, Rika slumped back onto her futon with a small grunt, laying back and closing her eyes. Despite what her attire and current position would suggest, sleep was the last thing on the Tamer's mind for three very good reasons. The first reason was that she was still running on Tokyo time, meaning that it felt like about 11am to her. The second reason: she had too much on her mind right now to sleep even if she had been tired.

The third reason? The loud, insistent beeping emanating from her backpack.

_"Great, so this piece of junk picks up Bio-emergences all the way from Japan now?"_ she grumbled mentally as her partner padded silently over to the backpack and retrieved the offending D-Arc. A barely-noticeable frown of confusion flickered across the kitsune's face as she peered at the blue-trimmed device's screen.

_"Actually, according to these readings, the signal is coming from less than half a kilometre away."_

"WHAT?" Rika yelled, leaping to her feet and grabbing the D-Arc. Her eyes widened and a cold smirk found its way onto her face as she ran over to her wardrobe. She quickly grabbed a pair of dark grey jeans, a black T-shirt and a dark green zipped hoody, changing quicker than Renamon would have thought possible if she hadn't seen it happen at least a dozen times before. Returning her hair to its traditional spiky ponytail, Rika threw open her bedroom window and grinned at her partner.

"Looks like this country won't be so boring after all…"

Renamon's only reply was a cold smile as she scooped the girl up in her arms and leapt from the second-storey window, both human and Digimon disappearing into thin air before they came within a metre of the ground.

* * *

Near Kirkfield Park, 1:53a.m.

Takato Matsuki yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Both he and his partner – the five foot tall red dinosaur Digimon known as Guilmon – were running towards the twenty-metre wide, perfectly spherical cloud of fog that had appeared in the middle of Kirkfield Park. He hated it when they got a bio-emergence signal this late at night. It wasn't the loss of sleep – he usually managed to make up for it by turning up late to school a couple of times a week. It wasn't the fact that he had to sneak out of the house – Henry had showed him several near-fool proof methods for getting away with the minimum of noise. It wasn't the fact that he had to lie to his parents – although that did bother the boy, being the type who preferred not to get into trouble. The worst part was tripping over every single pothole or tree root on the way to the battle site – something that Takato had already done three times in the space of two minutes.

"Why do Digimon always have to appear in the middle of the night? Why not at around 4 or 5pm on a school day? That way I can go home, get changed, grab a snack, do my homework and then still have time to kick some butt before dinner!" he rambled on to no-one in particular.

"Tell me about it!" a familiar high-pitched voice called from Takato's right. "Is it too much to ask for just _one_ week where we're not woken up at Snoresville o'clock? And you say _I _have bad manners…"

"Terriermon…" came the predictable reply. Takato turned to see his friend and fellow Tamer Henry Wong running towards him with the green-and-white dog-bunny Digimon Terriermon riding, as always, on his head. The boy was wearing his traditional outfit of black jeans, a black T-shirt and an orange jacket.

"What took you so long?" Takato called, cutting Terriermon off before he could issue his favourite catchphrase.

"What took US so long? You live, like, 200 metres closer to the park than we do! If anything it's you who-ow!" Henry cut off his partner's rant by rapping him sharply on the head with his knuckles.

"Any idea what we're up against?" the blue-haired half-Chinese Tamer asked.

"Nope, we just got here."

"I smell him Takatomon," Guilmon growled, his golden eyes looking dangerously feral. "He's strong – I think it might be a Champion!"

"I gotta agree with the beetroot – definitely a Champ. Vaccine type if I don't miss my guess."

Grimacing, Takato pulled down his goggles. Taking on a Champion level with two Rookies could be a risky proposition, especially when the stronger of the two Rookies was a virus type, and therefore at a severe disadvantage. Add in the fact that Terriermon wasn't exactly the most powerful of Digimon and Guilmon was only ten days old, and you had a recipe for disaster.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed and rushed towards the Digital Field, his partner running alongside him.

* * *

The inside of the digital field looked just like your average English park (with the addition of some very creepy fog). Takato breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around. _At least we know this guy isn't _**_that _**_powerful._

When they Bio-emerged, most Digimon appeared inside a field that was basically a foggy digitized version of the equivalent location in the real world – in this case, a small, wooded corner of Kirkfield Park. Only the most powerful Digimon of each level could "custom-build" the digital field they emerged in. So far, Takato and Henry had only come across one Digimon powerful enough to achieve this feat – an Angemon who had created a field of beautiful golden corn. It turned out that he had actually been trying to find his way to the "Eastern Quadrant", whatever that was and after Henry had explained the angel's mistake, he had been very apologetic and left immediately without any trouble.

_Don't think there's much chance of that happening again…_ Takato thought idly. _Focus, Matsuki, focus! _he thought a second later, realizing that his tired mind was starting to wander. The goggle-wearing Tamer shivered suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of…wrongness…emanating from the far side of the digital field. He gripped his red-ringed D-Arc tightly in his right hand as Henry appeared beside him, Terriermon and Guilmon stalking forwards cautiously. Henry's green-ringed D-Arc beeped softly as he activated the scan function and began searching for their opponent.

"**Spinning Needle!**" a crazed, bestial voice called out and the two Tamers watched in horror as dozens of spines flew through the air towards their partners. Terriermon managed to leap to the side, avoiding the attack, but Guilmon was not so lucky. One of the spines glanced off of the red Digimon's head, stunning him and knocking him to the ground. A winged, dragon-like shape swooped down out of the mists and towards the fallen Digimon.

"**Terrier Tornado!**"

A small green tornado bounced off of the dragon's left wing, knocking it off balance and causing it to pull up suddenly to avoid hitting the ground. Henry's D-Arc finally managed to get a lock on their attacker and displayed its stats in the holographic ring floating above the screen.

_Name: Airdramon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Vaccine_

_Special Attacks:_

_God Tornado_

_Spinning Needle_

_Wing Cutter_

Airdramon hovered there for a moment, allowing the Tamers and their partners to get their first good look at their enemy. His sky-blue body was long and serpentine, with a white underbelly and a pair of large, red wings. The Digimon's most distinctive feature, however, was the skull-shaped mask covering His face. A pair of glowing red eyes glared out from the skull's eye sockets at a defiant Terriermon and the creature growled menacingly.

"My turn. **God Tornado!**"

The dragon began to fly round and round in circles, creating a tornado many times the size of Terriermon's before launching it at the unfortunate rabbit, sending him flying into a tree and knocking him out cold.

"Terriermon!" Henry cried in horror.

"**Pyro Sphere!**"

A ball of red fire streaked from Guilmon's mouth towards Airdramon's back, who deflected it with a contemptuous flick of his tail. The attack was sent flying into the sky where it exploded like a firework, silhouetting the blue and white dragon. With a roar, the Champion level Digimon span in mid-air and smashed his tail into Guilmon, sending him flying into the same tree as Terriermon. The dragon hovered above the unconscious Digimon as both Tamers could only watch, helpless to save their partners. With one last triumphant roar, Airdramon drew back his wings, preparing to unleash his third special attack.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

_That voice… _Takato thought as a streak of blue fire flew from the tree line to Takato's left and smashed into Airdramon's back, right between his wings. The dragon screeched in pain and slammed into the ground, landing heavily on its snout. The blue fire hit the ground a few metres away from Takato and dissipated for a second, revealing the graceful vulpine form of a Renamon, before flaring back up again.

"**Power Paw!**"

This time the kitsune's attack struck the dragon right between the eyes, sending a mess of cracks across his skull helmet.

"**Dig-modify! Target Lock activate!**"

Renamon leapt into the air and crossed her arms across her chest. As she hovered there, a mass of glowing white crystals began to appear in front of her. When their number had reached around fifty, she threw her arms out to the side and shouted in a clear voice:

"**Diamond Storm!**"

The crystals flew at Airdramon's face, converging on the centre of the spider web of cracks in the dragon's helmet before blasting clean through. An intense white light flared from the hole in the helmet and Airdramon let out one last scream of pain as first his head, then the rest of his body, exploded into data fragments which were immediately absorbed by Renamon.

"No way…" Henry muttered in shock.

He had just seen a single Rookie rip a Champion to shreds in a matter of seconds – a Champion which had just crushed two other Rookies like insects. Even taking into account the type advantage, it was a pretty impressive feat. That Renamon was by far the most powerful Rookie the Tamer had ever seen.

As the last byte of data flowed into the kitsune's softly-glowing body, the digital field dissipated, leaving Takato and Henry stood in the open. Both Tamers immediately ran over to their Digimon.

"Guilmon! Are you okay boy?"

"Oooh, Takatomon, my head has an owie…" the childlike dinosaur replied, rubbing his head and looking sorry for himself.

"Terriermon, how do you feel?"

"Oh, great, now I've got two Henrys on my case!" the long-eared prankster joked, clutching his head in pain. "What happened? Did we win?"

"_We_ didn't win. _She_ did!" Takato explained, pointing to the Renamon who was now staring at the two boys and their Digimon, her expression unreadable.

"Thank you for your help. We owe you a great debt," Henry said to the kitsune, who's only reply was a "Humph" before she vanished into thin air, reappearing ten metres away next to the silhouette of a girl.

"Hey, who's out there? Damn kids and your smoke bombs! Where are you?"

Takato gulped as he recognized the voice. _Oh man, it's Mr Harker, the park warden! If he sees us out here at this time of night we're dead!_

The blustering old man came wandering around the corner, torch in hand. As the beam of light was pointed in their direction, Takato grabbed Guilmon and ducked behind some bushes, Henry doing the same with Terriermon beside him. The old man kept shouting as he tracked the torch back and forth across the tree line, still shouting his empty threats. When the light passed over the girl's hiding place, Takato's heart skipped a beat as he saw a flash of red hair in a spiky ponytail.

_It's…it's her! B-but that's impossible!_

After another minute, the old man gave up and wandered back to his house, muttering to himself as he walked. As soon as it was safe to do so, Takato leapt from his hiding place and ran toward the place he had last seen the girl. He had planned on confronting her, but by the time he reached the tree line, she was long gone.

"Hey, Takato, what's the rush?" Henry called cautiously, still wary of the crazy old warden returning.

"It's like she…just vanished into thin air…" he mumbled.

"Well she is a Renamon. They have that whole '_Kohenkyo_' thing."

"Not her – I meant her Tamer!"

"Wha-she had a Tamer?"

"Well, duh!" Terriermon chipped in. "Who d'ya think was doing all the shouting at her?"

"What? I didn't hear any shouting," Henry replied, confused.

"Really? I heard it clear as day!" Takato mumbled, equally confused. "Ah screw it! It's too late to be worrying about this kinda stuff now. I'll talk to you in the morning Henry! Come on Guilmon – let's get you back to your den."

"YAY! Sleepy time!"

* * *

Renamon and Rika rematerialized inside the girl's bedroom. The vulpine Digimon gently set her Tamer down, then closed the window silently.

_"Who the hell were those guys?" _Rika sent, confusion jumbling her thoughts. _"I thought that all this stuff only happened in Japan, but if there are Tamers and Wild Ones here…"_

_"…This could be a world-wide phenomenon!" _Renamon finished, troubled by the thought. The Digimon attacks in Shinjuku alone had been devastating – and that was _with _competent Tamers defending the city.

_"With Tamers like those two morons it's a miracle this country hasn't been conquered by a bunch of Patamon! They never used a single modify card! It's like they had no idea what they were doing!" _Rika ranted mentally, her anger from earlier in the evening having found a suitable outlet in the form of the mystery Tamers.

_"They will learn, just as Jeri did. She was just as clueless as they are when she met you, remember?" _Renamon smiled before reverting to her In-training form of Viximon.

Rika sighed and slumped onto her futon. _"And she still was for a long time afterwards…"_

_

* * *

_

Rika's mother didn't make it back from London until Thursday afternoon, meaning that she was only able to stay at the house for two argument-filled days before having to head back. She returned late Tuesday evening, just in time for the day that Rika had been dreading since the second she got off the plane:

Her first day of school.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Inferno**

Wednesday 1st September, 2010 - 2pm

Howden-Smythe Girls' Grammar School, Scholes, West Yorkshire.

Rika grimaced and turned up the volume on her iPhone as the shouting coming from the headteacher's office reached a roaring crescendo. The girl soon lost herself in the dark, brutal tones of Disturbed's "The Night", nodding her head unconsciously in time to the music. After a couple of minutes, she winced again as a voice which the redhead plainly recognized as belonging to her mother somehow managed to reach a high enough volume to break through the wall of sound emanating from her silver headphones.

It was plainly obvious to anyone who happened to pass by that Rika was in a lot of trouble. She was sat in the dreaded hard, plastic chair outside the headteacher's office, her brand new white shirt and dark green blazer stained red with blood. _And this started out as __**such**__ a good day… _the Tamer thought sarcastically. Ten minutes later, the screaming match had come to a close and the door slammed open, revealing the tall, beautiful blonde-haired form of Rumiko Nonaka, her pale complexion and hair colour making it obvious that the woman was not fully Japanese. Rumiko was only twenty-eight years old and could have easily passed herself off as being a decade younger. The supermodel fixed her daughter with a glare that the Digimon Ice Queen would have been proud to wear herself.

"Car. Now."

Rika followed the livid blonde out of the old-fashioned private school and climbed into the waiting limousine. She was silent and avoided meeting her mother's gaze the whole time, not out of shame or guilt, but because she knew they'd just get into a screaming match. As George started the car and pulled away, Rumiko was the one to break the silence.

"I hope you're happy," she growled, barely keeping her temper in check. "You've managed to get yourself expelled from the best private school in Northern England _on the first day_. Every other private school in the country will have a black mark next to your name after this! Do you have any idea how much blackmailing and brown-nosing I had to do to make sure that girl's parents didn't press charges?"

Rika just kept staring at her feet, giving no indication that she had even heard her mother's rant.

"What the hell could have possessed you to do something like that?"

With that last sentence, Rika's head snapped up and she met her mother's angry gaze. The sheer intensity of the cold rage in her daughter's eyes left Rumiko speechless as the girl began to tell her story.

* * *

That morning - 11:25 am

Howden-Smythe Girls' Grammar School - Computer Room 2

"So, who's the new girl?" a pretty black-haired girl sneered as she glared at the red-haired Japanese girl sat on the other side of the computer room.

"Who, that Rika Nagino? I heard her dad was an oil baron!" a slightly less pretty brown-haired girl with pigtails chipped in.

"Nah, that's the girl in Simone's class. I heard she was the daughter of a Japanese supermodel - Runny-kami or something like that. And her name's _Nonaka_ you moron! God, Kate, you call me a dumb blonde!" a bored-looking girl with long, wavy blonde hair snapped as she doodled on her worksheet.

"Wait, Nonaka?" the first girl hissed in surprise before turning to the blonde. "Ruby, was her mother's name Rumiko Nonaka?"

"Yeah, that's it. You know her?"

"Ebony, Ruby! Is there a problem?" a nasal, high-pitched rang out as the school's IT teacher, Mr Simmons, glared at the two talking girls.

"No, Mr Simmons!" the dark-haired girl identified as Ebony replied. "I couldn't find the 'Delete' button, so Ruby was showing me where it was."

The balding, fat little man let out a short "humph!" and returned to his marking. Ebony merely grinned as she opened Internet Explorer and explained her plan to her two companions in hushed whispers. The three girls spent the next forty-five minutes Googling the young girl and her mother, gathering as much dirt on the family as they could. When the bell rang, signalling the start of lunch, the trio intercepted Rika in the corridor outside the main hall.

"Hey, Nonaka!" Kate yelled, causing the redhead to turn and glare coldly at her.

"What?"

"We heard you're the daughter of Rumiko Nonaka, the supermodel. Is it true?" Ebony butted in, seeing that Kate had frozen under the Ice Queen's gaze.

Rika's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yeah, so what?"

"What's with all the coldness? We just wanna get to know the new girl…" Ruby replied, her voice so sickly sweet it even made Ebony want to throw up.

"No, you just wanna score some Bitch Points after spending the whole lesson trying to dig up some dirt on me," Rika replied, and seeing the identical stunned look on all three girls' faces, she added: "Kate, you _really_ need to learn to whisper quieter."

As her prey turned and began walking towards the lunch hall, Ebony felt her temper flare. _Nobody walks away from me!_

"No wonder you don't have any friends - who'd want to hang out with a cold-hearted bitch like you?" she yelled, her temper flaring yet again as Rika just kept walking. Not one to be defeated easily, the dark-haired girl started walking, closing the distance between them until she was just a few steps behind her victim. "Your own family doesn't even want you - you were just an accident!" Rika stopped walking and clenched her fists at this last remark, which Ebony foolishly took as her cue to continue. "I mean, it's no wonder your dad ran off - who'd want a kid like you? Hell, the only reason your mum didn't leave you was because he beat her to it!"

* * *

The edges of Rika's vision frayed and turned red as she span on her heel and glared at Ebony. All sound seemed to fade away as the Tamer began shaking with rage. The English girl realised she had gone too far and fear flashed across her face as she took a step back.

The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion for both girls as the redhead drew back her left arm. With a sickening crack, Rika's fist slammed into Ebony's face, breaking her nose in a dramatic spray of blood and sending her slamming into the wall. Rika didn't stop there, pinning her tormentor against the wall by the throat and throttling her two-handed. Kate and Ruby began screaming for help as their friend was slowly strangled to death. As the dark-haired girl's face began to turn purple, she struggled in vain against her "victim's" iron grip, desperate for just one lungful of sweet, life-giving air…

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!" a male voice roared from behind Rika, and the girl felt two pairs of strong hands trying to remove her own from around Ebony's neck. As the death-grip around her neck was finally released, Ebony toppled forwards, smearing blood from her mangled face down Rika's pristine white shirt as she fell to the floor.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" the furious girl shrieked and writhed in the grip of the two grown men struggling to restrain her. As she slowly realised that her efforts were in vain, Rika's fury died down to embers and she ceased her struggles, contenting herself with shooting her Number One Death Glare at the blood-soaked, sobbing form of the girl who had sparked the inferno.

* * *

"Oh, Rika…" Rumiko sighed as the limousine came to a stop and she reached out to put a comforting hand on her daughter's arm. "I know what that girl said was horrible, but you have to learn to control your temper. Why did you let it get to you so much?"

"Because it's the truth!" the girl spat as she shrugged off her mother's arm and leapt out of the car, running for the safety of her room as fast as her legs could carry her.

* * *

Seiko walked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs, leaving the sobbing form of her daughter in Miranda's capable hands. The pair had spent half an hour trying to calm Rumiko down without success before the older woman decided to try a different tactic.

"Rika?" Seiko called softly as she knocked on her granddaughter's bedroom door. When no answer came, she felt a sudden flash of fear. Memories of _The Incident _began playing in her mind as she reached out, sliding the door open…

…To reveal a perfectly healthy Rika laid on her futon staring at the ceiling. She had cleaned herself up and changed back into her traditional "Broken Heart" shirt and jeans. Sat next to her on the bed was a Viximon stuffed doll - the only feminine or childish item that Rika owned. Breathing a sigh of relief, Seiko closed the door behind her and sat down next to the futon.

"I spoke to your mother," the older woman began, watching closely for any sign of a reaction from the preteen girl. "She told me what those girls said to you…" The redhead tensed visibly and blinked, waiting for her grandmother to get to the point. "…and what you said to her."

Rika rolled over onto her right side, turning away from Seiko's sad gaze. The brown-haired woman would not be deterred, however.

"Did you really believe what you said? Do you really think that your mother doesn't love you? That _I_ don't love you?"

"I was…an accident," the girl replied, her tone cold.

"You were…unexpected, yes. But that doesn't mean that you were unwanted. We don't love you any less because of it."

"Dad did."

Seiko flinched at the pain in Rika's voice. "I am not James, and neither is your mother!" she said, her voice firm but not unkind. "Both of us love you more than anything else in this world or the next."

"Then why isn't she up here with you?" Rika yelled, sitting up and meeting her grandmother's gaze for the first time since she entered the room. Seiko hesitated as images of her distraught daughter flashed through her mind.

"The state she's in right now, she wouldn't be much use!" the redhead looked away again, trying to repress the rising tide of guilt she felt. "What you said hurt her badly. I think it's high time the two of you sat down and just talked to each other."

Rika sat there for over a minute, staring at the floor, before she nodded slowly and stood up. As her grandmother led her out of the room and down the stairs, the Viximon doll blinked suddenly and let out a loud sneeze. Pausing for a second to make sure she hadn't been heard, the fox-like Digimon retrieved the real Viximon doll from the closet, placed it on the futon and leapt out of the window, a white glow suffusing her body.

_By the Sovereigns, that woman moves quietly!_

_

* * *

_

Rika's talk with her mother was as awkward as Seiko had expected. The pair had sat there in an awkward silence for several minutes before Rumiko opened with an awkward joke. They conversation was punctuated by several more awkward silences, and ended with the pair exchanging awkward apologies and an awkward hug before scurrying away awkwardly to do their own thing. The only non-awkward part of the conversation was the way in which both of them had completely avoided talking about what had happened, dodging the issue as ably as any politician.

_Some things never change…_ Seiko sighed mentally as she headed for the kitchen to make a start on dinner.

* * *

Kirkfield Park, 3pm

"And we're BACK IN BUSINESS! ALRIGHT!" Takato whooped and cheered as Guilmon uploaded the data of the DemiDevimon who had bio-emerged deep in the forest at the heart of Kirkfield Park.

This had been the duo's first battle in over a week, despite there having been two bio-emergence alerts since their fight with Airdramon. Both times, Takato, Henry and their partners had arrived to find the Digital Field dissipating with no Digimon in sight. The first time, the boys had begun a search of the area, worried that the Digimon could have fully emerged from the field before they arrived. Their worries were proven to be in vain when Terriermon discovered the words "Too slow, amateurs" carved in Japanese into a nearby tree trunk, signed by "The Digimon Queen". While most people would simply have been glad for the opportunity to fight, Takato couldn't help but look the gift horse in the mouth. _I wonder why she didn't show up…I hope she's okay._

"Hey, Takato! Guilmon!" a voice called from behind Takato, and the brown-haired Tamer turned to see Henry rushing towards him, Terriermon perched on his head.

"Henry, Terriermon! What kept ya?" he replied with a grin. To his surprise, Terriermon shuddered and a look of sheer terror passed across his face as he mumbled something about pants.

"Suzie got hold of him again," The dog-bunny's tamer explained, noticing his friend's confused look. "So, what's the story?"

"Once upon a time there was an evil DemiDevimon. He was very mean, and shot poison darts at people, and-"

"He didn't mean it literally, boy!" Takato laughed, interrupting Guilmon's rambling. "Long story short - pun not intended - we kicked his ass!"

"WHAT? The ONE TIME that psycho fox and her tamer don't show up and I MISS THE FIGHT because of Damien Devil Child? No fair!"

"Terriermon…"

"Momentai!"

"Anyway…I wonder why they didn't show up to this one…" Takato said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Maybe they're just late?" Guilmon suggested cheerfully before being distracted by a passing squirrel.

"Pretty hard to be late when you can teleport…" Terriermon pointed out as the red dinosaur began chasing the animal.

"Maybe they were a long way away, or maybe the girl couldn't get away from whatever she was doing for some reason. Remember that Digimon that bio-emerged in the middle of your shift at the bakery?" Henry said, trying not to laugh as the goggle-wearing boy began chasing after his partner. Terriermon began humming the "Benny Hill" theme tune as boy, Digimon and animal wove their way between the tightly-packed tree trunks, only to burst out laughing as Guilmon stopped suddenly, sending his Tamer running straight into his back and knocking the boy to the ground. The dog-bunny quickly stopped laughing as he noticed the dinosaur sniffing the air cautiously.

"Guilmon? What is it boy?" Takato asked, looking around cautiously as he pulled himself to his feet.

"I thought I smelled…something…" he replied before shaking his head and opening his mouth in a toothy smile. "Ah, well! Now, where did Mr Squirrel go…?"

The animal in question had wisely decided to climb the nearest tree and hide from the overly-playful Digimon. _Why didn't it do that earlier? _Takato wondered idly, before dismissing the thought with a shake of his head. Glancing at his watch, the boy nearly had a heart attack when he saw the time.

"Oh, no…mum wanted me back fifteen minutes ago so I could fill in for dad while he was out at the supermarket. We'd better get you back to the hideout, boy. See you guys later!"

* * *

_That was close…_ Renamon thought as she phased back into existence on the roof just above Rika's window. She had arrived just in time to see the goggle-wearing boy's partner uploading the DemiDevimon's data. She had stuck around for a while, amused by the dinosaur's foolish antics, before being forced to _Kohenkyo_ away when he caught her scent. _It is odd…I do not recognize his species. The others called him "Guilmon" but I've never heard the name before. I shall have to ask Rika about it…_

The kitsune reached out with her mind, sensing that her partner was back in her room, reading at the desk next to the window. The Digimon swung gracefully in through the open window, landing on the hard wooden floor behind the redhead without a sound.

_"How did it go?" _the girl asked telepathically, not looking up from her book.

_"The goggle-wearing Tamer, Takato, had already resolved the situation by the time I arrived. His partner 'Guilmon' managed to defeat his opponent with little difficulty"_

_"Really? What were they up against?" _Rika was surprised that the idiots had managed not to get themselves killed.

_"A DemiDevimon."_

_"That explains it…wait, what did you say Gogglehead's partner was called?"_

_"Guilmon. I am unfamiliar with the species."_

_"Huh, I've never heard of it either. Maybe it got created specifically for the European version of the card game or something."_

_"Possibly. By the way, they noticed our absence. They actually seemed slightly…worried about us. You in particular," _Renamon said with a mental chuckle.

_"Idiots. I really needed to blow off some steam, too. Grandma's timing sucks…"_

Seiko had knocked on Rika's bedroom door just as Renamon was about to climb out of the window carrying the girl. The kitsune had been forced to de-digivolve and resort to her worst-case contingency plan of impersonating Rika's Viximon doll while the woman had her talk with her granddaughter. The partners had spoken telepathically during the long silence at the end of the conversation and decided that Renamon would check out the bio-emergence signal while Rika spoke to her mother.

_"If she had arrived five seconds later, your mother would currently be busy filing a 'Missing Persons' report with the local police…"_

Rika "humphed" and closed her book, knowing that her partner was right. Her mother had a tendency to over-react to everything, especially if it involved her "precious little baby" (Rika still didn't have any idea who this person was!). It was one of the many reasons that Rika had not yet told her about Renamon.

_Thank the gods grandma never told her about…__**that**__… _she thought to herself, subconsciously rubbing her left wrist through her red sweatband.

* * *

Thursday, 2nd September 2010 - 12:30pm

Nonaka Residence

Rumiko sighed as she walked into the luxurious living room, slumped onto the massive leather couch and poured herself a glass of sake from the crystal decanter marked "FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY" on the table. She had just returned from a meeting with Mr Arnold, the headmaster of the local state high school: Redcliff Mount. The woman had decided to walk to and from the school, and her feet were killing her. The school was actually less than three hundred metres from the end of the Nonaka's driveway, but Rumiko's choice of footwear had made it seem like miles.

_How did it come to this?_ _My little angel going to some filthy…__**state school!**__ She could get beaten up, or raped, or stabbed or… _The woman took a deep breath and had a large sip of the rice wine in an attempt to calm herself down.

Rumiko had spent the whole morning calling every private school in the area trying to get Rika a place, but to no avail. Every single one of them turned her down. Most of them had the common decency to at least pretend to check and see if there was anything they could do, but more than one secretary simply hung up the phone as soon as she gave her name. It seemed that her earlier prediction was correct - every private school in the county had gotten word of Rika's expulsion from Howden-Smythe. After the fifteenth rejection, the blonde-haired woman had given up. With a sigh of defeat, she had dialled the number for Redcliff Mount and set up a meeting with Mr Arnold. After arranging a suitable donation to the school's charity fund, the irritating little man was more than willing to offer Rika a place at Redcliff as a Year 8 student.

As she finished her sake, Rumiko let out yet another sigh. She stood up, making her way dejectedly towards her daughter's bedroom to give her the bad news…

* * *

"YES!" Rika yelled triumphantly in a rare display of pure glee as soon as her mother was out of earshot. "No more stuffy all-girls private school! No more stuck-up aristocratic bitches looking down on me! No more ridiculous uniforms!"

At that point the Viximon doll on Rika's desk coughed politely and said "Actually, in England all schools have uniforms - not just the private ones. The skirts are usually optional, however."

"Ah, damn it…but the other points still stand!"

"Rika, who are you talking to?"

_Shit, grandma! Think fast…_ "Uh, I'm talking to Jeri on the webcam. She just got a new one and she wanted to try it out."

"Oh, tell her I said hello. And watch your language!"

_Damn, she heard the "stuck-up bitches" part… _"Sorry grandma!"

_"It is fortunate that the infamous 'Hata Hearing' appears to have skipped a generation with your mother…" _Viximon smirked.

_"Yeah, no kidding…Actually, that reminds me - I haven't spoken to Jeri since I got here. Might as well see if she's online, see how things are going back home…"_

Jeri Katou and her partner Leomon were the only people in the world (family not included) that Rika thought of as friends. The eternally cheerful girl was also the only Tamer out of the four currently present in Japan that Rika _didn't _want to kill slowly and painfully.

Rika grabbed her sleek black laptop and pressed the "on" switch, walking to the living room while it fired up so that she could sit somewhere a little more comfortable. She typed in her Windows password and logged into the instant messaging program Jeri had forced her to install. The redhead cringed as she saw the girl's latest screen name - NyaoNyaoKatou8991 - before starting up a conversation.

"Jeri? You there?" she typed, a response arriving in seconds.

"Rika! How you doing?"

"I'm fine, you?"

"I'm good. What's England like?"

"Rainy. Boring. Same as Shinjuku really," the redhead typed with a small chuckle. "Any Digimon activity recently?"

"Not much, just a Bakemon and a Hagurumon."

"What? Even the idiot twins could have handled them!"

"Lol they did handle them - they got there before me. And don't be mean!"

"Whatever."

"So how are you handling life without Digimon? Apart from Renamon I mean."

"I'm not."

"That bad?"

"No," Rika typed with another chuckle, imagining her friend's shocked look with a sense of satisfaction as she pressed the 'SEND MESSAGE' button. "I mean I've dealt with three bio-emergences since I got here."

"What? Seriously?

"Yeah, turns out we get the same crap here that you do."

"Whoa, I always thought Digimon attacks were a Tokyo thing. Are there any Tamers over there?"

"Yeah, two of them that I know of."

"What are they like?"

"They'd get along well with the dimwit duo…"

"What did I say about being mean? Besides Kenta isn't THAT bad…at least when he's not with Kazu…"

"You would say that…"

"So, anything else interesting happen?" the brunette replied, a smirk crossing Rika's face as the message appeared on screen.

"That was a pretty obvious attempt at changing the subject."

"Your attempt wasn't much better. Normally you'd just let that slide. So…what happened?"

"I got kicked out of school on the first day for beating the crap out of somebody."

"WHAT?"

"I know - it's great! Now none of the private schools will take me so I get to go to a normal school."

"Ummm…why did you beat this person up?"

"They tried to use me to score bitch points."

"Ouch. What did they say?" Jeri asked, typing another message when Rika failed to answer. "Don't wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Okay, then tell me this - on a scale from 'Kazu just walked into the room' to 'Ryo just insulted Renamon' how mad did it make you?"

"You couldn't just use a '1 to 10' scale could you?"

"Nope"

"Is there a choice above 'Ryo just insulted Renamon'?"

"That bad?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry…" the brunette replied along with a 'sad face' emoticon.

"Why? You didn't say it."

"You know what I mean. Awww…got to go, stepmum's telling me to go to bed."

"Damn, I forgot about the time difference," Rika typed with a quiet curse. "Talk to you later."

"Bye xxxxxx."

Rika closed the IM program as the message "NyaoNyaoKatou8991 has logged out" appeared onscreen and scrolled through the list of games installed on her laptop, looking for something that caught her eye. Deciding on a mindless killing spree, the redhead soon lost herself in the therapeutic orgy of bloodshed that is "Prototype". _Mum would have a fit if she knew I had this…_

_

* * *

_

2pm

"Rika?"

The girl blinked and looked at the clock on her computer, woken from her slaughter fest by her grandmother's voice. She'd been playing for over an hour. _Time flies when you're munching Americans…_

"Rika? Hello?"

"I'm in here grandma."

The brown-haired woman walked into the living room and sat down in the leather armchair opposite Rika. "I was wondering if you could head down to the bakery and pick up a couple of things for me. I just realized I forgot to eat lunch earlier."

Rika rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Wow, and here I thought _mum_ was the model…"

"Very funny. And besides, if I was starving myself, I wouldn't be eating a late lunch, now would I?"

The redhead let out an exaggerated sigh. "Okay, I'll go get it now. What do you want?"

"A char grilled chicken sandwich for me and whatever you want to buy for yourself with the change, thank you." Seiko opened her purse and retrieved a five pound note, handing it to Rika.

"Thanks, grandma. Back soon!"

* * *

Matsuki Family Bakery

Takato struggled to pull the white apron over his blue hoody as he stumbled over to the till. As soon as he had finished wrestling with the piece of fabric, the boy groaned and banged his head against the counter, leaving it resting on the hard wooden surface. _Just my luck…_ he thought miserably, closing his eyes and groaning again. _The first fight I have in a week and I get pulled in for extra shifts for coming home late….and it wasn't even a good fight! Why does that stupid Renamon have to insta-pop everything before we get there?_

The thought of the golden-furred kitsune sent Takato's thoughts spiralling towards her Tamer - the so-called "Digimon Queen". _It's weird, I could have sworn she was the same girl from that freaky dream I had…then again I only got a quick glimpse of her…_

"Um, hello?"

"GAH!"

* * *

As Rika stepped into the bakery, her nostrils were assaulted with overwhelming force by the heavenly scent of baking bread and pastry. She stood there for a moment savouring the delicious aroma before making her way over to the counter. The redhead frowned as she realized that the boy who was meant to be manning the till was slumped over the counter, half-asleep.

"Um, hello?" she called warily, wondering how anyone could fall asleep in such a noisy place.

"GAH!" he yelped and leapt to his feet so fast that he overbalanced and fell over backwards, his head ricocheting off a shelf with a loud 'BANG'.

"TAKATO!" a female called in an annoyed tone.

_Takato? Wasn't that the name of…?_

"Sorry mum!" the boy replied as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head bashfully and grinning like an idiot.

_It IS him!_ Rika thought, trying to keep the surprise and annoyance from her face. _This has got to be some kind of a joke. How can this clumsy idiot be a Tamer? Even the moron twins weren't as bad as this - well, Kenta at least…his first aid skills sure came in handy…_

"Hehe, sorry about that - must've dozed off. Anyway, what can I get you?" Suddenly the boy blinked and took a step back, a confused look on his face. "Hey, I know you - you're the girl from my…from my battle with Airdramon!"

_Damn it! I didn't think he'd gotten that good a look at me…_ "Quiet you moron! Do you want your parents to hear?" she hissed.

"Ah, they'll just think I'm on about an Xbox game or something. They usually just tune me out when I'm in here anyway unless I break something. Hey, why didn't you show up to the bio-emergence yesterday? We thought something might have happened to you."

"Mind your own business!" the redhead snapped, causing Takato to recoil in surprise.

"Uh, sorry. Oh, I never got the chance to thank you for-"

"Save it, Gogglehead," she interrupted, the confused look returning to the scruffy Tamer's face. "It didn't mean anything. What the hell were you thinking, rushing in like that? Were those goggles cutting off circulation to your brain or something?"

"Uh…I…"

"Ugh, never mind! Just get me a char grilled chicken sandwich and…two sausage rolls."

"Coming right up!" Takato exclaimed, grateful for the sudden shift of the conversation back into comfortable territory. "That'll be three pounds eighty please!"

Rika handed over the five pound note, pocketing the change and taking the brown paper bag. As she turned and headed for the door, Takato's voice called out one last time.

"Oh, I almost forgot! What was that modify thing you did during the fight with Airdramon? That was so cool!"

The redhead turned and gave her fellow Tamer a look of open-mouthed shock, before pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"You have _got _to be kidding me…" she muttered and walked out, leaving behind a very confused Takato.

_What was her problem? _the boy wondered. _Damn, I didn't even get her name…_ Eventually he got tired of thinking and, with a shrug, laid his head back on the counter, dozing off within minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Grate Brittish Educaiton Sysstum**

Monday 6th September - 8:37am

Redcliff Mount High School

_OhmygodohmygodohmygodI'mlateI'mlateI'mlateI'mlateI'mlate!_ Takato thought as he sprinted down the ugly modern corridor leading from Main Reception to his form room, P12. _I can't believe I'm late on the first day again! I hope Miss Byron is in a good mood…_

"SorryI''tkillme!" Takato babbled incoherently as he stumbled into the classroom. P12 was a science room in the more modern area of the school, meaning that it had a cold, sterile aesthetic and an odd chemical smell. The two-person fake marble desks were arranged into three rows of five, all facing the whiteboard at the front of the room.

"Ah, Takato - just in time for the seating plan!" a small, plump woman of about forty with short brown hair and too much lipstick sighed and glared at the boy. "I hope that we aren't starting as we mean to go on - I don't think I could take another year of that…"

"Ah, yes miss! I mean, no miss! I mean…I mean…"

"Just go stand at the back with everyone else."

"Yes, miss."

Takato sauntered slowly to the back of the room, standing next to Henry. The brown-haired Tamer grinned sheepishly at his friend, who merely rolled his eyes and grinned back.

"I'll never understand how you manage to be late so often when you only live a couple hundred metres down the road. So, what was it this time?" Henry whispered as Miss Byron began assigning students to desks. He was trying not to laugh at Takato's dishevelled appearance. His black trousers were crumpled, his yellow-striped blue tie was tied in a knot and his Navy blue jumper was on the wrong way round.

"Accidentally unplugged the alarm clock in the night…" he replied while fighting a losing battle with his tie.

"How did you manage that?"

"Uh…I have skillz? With a 'z'?"

Henry chuckled at the obscure video game quote and shook his head, then pointed subtly to the far side of the room. "You seen the new girl yet?"

"New girl?" Takato asked as he finally undid his tie and began re-tying it. He looked in the direction Henry indicated, and his curiosity turned to an odd mix of excitement and dread as he recognized the figure. "That's her!"

"That's who?"

"The Tamer from the Airdramon fight!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! She came into the bakery last week and kept insulting me when I tried to thank her for saving our butts!"

"Something the matter, Mr Matsuki?" Miss Byron asked, irritation clear in her voice.

"Ah, no miss!"

"Good. Now, if you wouldn't mind taking your seat?" she growled and Takato nearly fell over his own feet as he scrambled to the third desk in the third row, putting him at the back of the class but still right in front of the teacher's desk. As he sat down, the Tamer took a quick look around the classroom, his heart sinking as he did so.

_Awww, man…she's doing it alphabetically again! I'm gonna end up stuck next to Reece Oaken again…_

"Rika Nonaka, sit next to Takato!"

_YES! Wait, I don't remember there being a Rika in this class before. But…that means…_

Takato tried not to gulp in fear as the redheaded Tamer sat next to fixed him with a glare that wouldn't have looked out of place on the face of a serial killer. With a "humph!" the girl sat next to the petrified boy, moving her stool as far away from him as possible.

_This is gonna be an interesting year…_

_

* * *

_

Rika looked at her timetable, then glanced quickly at Takato's. What she saw nearly made her scream in rage and frustration. Due to an awkward twist of fate, the girl discovered that she was stuck in the same class as Takato for most of her lessons, including all four of their lessons that day - second period ICT, third period English, fourth period Science and fifth period Maths. The only lesson she would have normally had away from him was first period 'Citizenship' class, but that was cancelled due to the extended form period. Thanks to the evil invention that is the English alphabet, she would probably be sat next to him in every single one of those lessons.

_If I have to put up with his stupidity every day for a year, I am going to KILL SOMEBODY!_

"Now, class, as I'm sure you've all noticed we have a new student with us. Rika, if you'd like to stand up please?" Miss Byron said in the high-pitched, patronising voice characteristic of bad teachers everywhere.

As Rika reluctantly stood up, someone on the other side of the room wolf-whistled loudly. Rika glared at the offender - a tall, fat, brutish boy who looked like his face had been sculpted by Picasso. The boy returned the glare for a few seconds before shifting uncomfortably and looking away.

"This is Rika Nonaka, who has just moved here from Tokyo. I hope that you'll all try and help her to settle in nicely. You may sit down again Rika."

Rika sat down again, this time glaring at the teacher. The woman pretended not to notice as she waffled on about "setting a good example for the new Year 7 students".

"You just made a powerful enemy," Takato whispered in perfect Japanese. Rika gave him a surprised look - she hadn't expected him to be able to speak Japanese, otherwise she wouldn't have signed her name as "The Digimon Queen" in the note she left carved into a tree trunk.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to make it look like she was paying attention to the insane teacher's rant.

"That guy you stared down is Luke Aaron. He's the biggest psychopath in our year, plus his older brother's the leader of a massive gang of chavs in Year 11."

"What the hell is a 'chav'?"

"It's like, a person who wears tracksuits, smokes, drinks, swears a lot and spits on the ground all the time. A lot of them smoke weed too. This school's infested with them."

Rika snorted and shook her head. "They don't sound too scary…"

"They go around in gangs and pick on anyone who's different to them. If you talk back they beat the crap out of you. Most of the older ones carry knives outside of school, and if you fight back they aren't scared to hunt you down and use them."

"Takato, if I have to tell you about talking one more time-" Miss Byron began menacingly.

"Actually, that was my fault," Rika interrupted, drawing a filthy look from the power-mad teacher. Ignoring the glare, she kept talking. "I was asking him how to get to my next lesson from here."

"He must have been giving you some very complicated directions for you to be talking for that long…"

The girl shot a venomous glance at Takato before continuing. "His directions were a little…mixed up. I had to keep asking him to re-explain something."

With a "humph" the teacher went back to her patronising little rant. Ten minutes later, the end-of-lesson bell rang and a relieved Rika shuffled slowly towards the door, waiting for the all-out mêlée in the corridor to subside slightly before stepping out.

As the girl looked out at the sea of people, she realized something looked odd. Everyone was so…tall! Rika was considered to be average height for a girl her age in Japan, but in England she was a little way below average at about four feet and seven inches. Takato, meanwhile, was about average at four foot nine, making him quite tall for a Japanese boy.

"Rika!" Takato's voice called out as he ran for a few metres to catch up with her, Henry walking at a more sedate pace a couple of steps behind him. "How come you said that stuff to Lord Biro?"

"As soon as she'd finished screeching at you, she'd have moved on to me. And I tend to react badly when power-mad teachers start ranting at me," she replied coldly, still walking.

"Oh, right. Plus the look on her face was priceless!" Takato replied, chuckling to himself. "Okay, what room am I in first…G14? Where the hell is that?"

"Oh, that's one of the computer rooms - I think I'm in there too. It's just up these stairs," Henry said, indicating an unnecessarily wide staircase that obstructed a large chunk of the corridor ahead, creating another mêlée of stampeding students. This crowd was, ironically enough, blocking the corridor so much that it prevented access to the stairs.

"Great, I'm stuck with both of you for another hour…" Rika muttered darkly before pushing her way skilfully through the crowd and reaching the staircase in a matter of seconds.

"How did she…do that?" Takato wondered aloud as Henry smirked and shook his head in amazement.

"I guess you don't grow up in Tokyo without learning a few things."

* * *

Rika's theory was proven correct four times over - she was forced to sit next to Takato in all four of their lessons. Through sheer bad luck, she was also stuck with Henry for ICT, Science and Maths. The only break she managed to get from the duo was during lunch, when she headed to the roof of the old science block to read and meet with Renamon. Technically, she wasn't actually meant to be up there - all students were supposed to spend their lunchtimes in the main Dining Hall, with the library being opened for use at lunchtime from the second week onwards. _If I have to spend one more minute with those two morons than I have to…_

To be fair, Henry wasn't anywhere near as stupid or annoying as Gogglehead - in fact, he was quite possibly the smartest person Rika had ever met. This intelligence was what caused Rika to christen him with his nickname in last period Maths.

* * *

2:15pm

"But I don't get it! How can minus a minus not be a minus but a minus of a plus is a minus and a plus of a minus is a minus and a plus of a plus is still a plus?" Takato babbled, unable to get his head around the concept of negative numbers. They were half an hour into the lesson and Henry had spent the whole time trying to explain the basic principles to his friend.

_How the hell did he manage to get into the genius class for maths? They must have REALLY low standards of intelligence here… _Rika thought bitterly as she tried to ignore the gibbering idiot sat next to her. After his fifth rant at Henry, the redhead's meagre supply of patience finally ran dry.

"For God's sake Gogglehead would you TAKE A FREAKING BREATH?" she yelled in his face, startling him into silence. "Maybe if you'd just shut up and actually _listen_ to Brainiac over there, you'd be able to do this stuff! Look, it's really simple - same sign means you add, different sign means you take away. Now shut the hell up before I rip out your voice box!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the poor boy squeaked and began writing away furiously. It seemed to Henry that Rika's rant had paid off - he was actually getting the answers right! He glanced over at Rika's workbook, frowning as he tried to decipher her spidery handwriting.

"You know, _you_ can't really call _me _Brainiac when you've already finished the work…" the blue-haired Tamer said, grinning.

Rika glared, cracking her knuckles menacingly. "I'm sorry, were you just telling me what to do?"

"Uh…no?"

"That's what I thought."

* * *

When Rika got home, she was subjected to an interrogation the Spanish Inquisition would have been proud of. Her mother was firing off questions like a MegaGargomon fires missiles. The questions were the typical "Did you have a good day?", "Did you have any trouble from the other students" and "Are there any cute boys in your classes?", to which Rika's answers were "Yes", "No", and "MUM!" respectively. The redhead began to resent the older woman for taking extra time off work as she felt a minor migraine stampede its way into her brain.

* * *

"Oh, by the way, I heard there's a history trip to France at the end of the month…" Rumiko called as her daughter headed for her room.

Rika stopped walking and sighed mentally. She had been hoping her mother wouldn't hear about that. The trip had been offered to the top two History classes, and she knew for a fact that Gogglehead was going.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, the head of the school's History department called and said there was still a space free if you wanted it, so I signed you up!"

"Mum! Why couldn't you have asked me about it first?" the redhead groaned in exasperation. This wasn't the first time her mother had pulled something like this.

"Well, why wouldn't you want to go? It's a trip to beautiful France - the capital of fashion and culture!" Rumiko sighed happily, a dreamy look spreading across her face.

_Must…resist…urge…to…KILL…_

"Whatever…" the girl muttered in a defeated tone and started walking again. She knew there was no arguing with her mother when she went into daydream mode.

"You're welcome…" the woman mumbled, daydreaming about Parisian cafés and glasses of fine Bordeaux wine.

* * *

Tuesday, 7th September

Redcliff Mount High School

Takato was, surprisingly, on time to his first lesson - Citizenship Studies with Mrs Rurappen. The frail old Indian woman was completely incapable of controlling a class and didn't even bother making a seating plan, meaning that Takato spent the majority of the lesson talking to Henry and his two non-Tamer friends Cameron Ridings and Stephanie Rare. Cam was a tall boy straddling the oddly-thin line between fat and muscled, with a mop of black hair and a devil of a sense of humour. Steph, on the other hand, was quite shy, average height with long, straight blonde hair and blue-framed square glasses. Until he had befriended Henry over the Summer Holidays, these two had been Takato's only friends at Redcliff, his other friends from his previous school having gone to high schools that were slightly less terrifying.

Second period was history with Mr Alistair, and the four friends were delighted to learn that they were in the same class for this otherwise-boring lesson. Takato felt his spirits sink, however, as he walked along the corridor to see everybody's favourite sociopathic redhead stood outside the door. His worst fear was realized five minutes later when Mr Alistair implemented yet another alphabetical-order seating plan, placing Takato on a two person desk with the girl of his nightmares.

"Uh, hey Rika!" he said nervously as the furious girl sat down on his right. "What are the odds we'd be sat together again?"

"Humph!"

_Oh, great - she's pissed off already. How am I gonna survive this year?_

As Mr Alistair started a twenty-minute long rant about the construction of a Motte-and-Bailey castle, Takato felt his mind beginning to wander. He began doodling random Digimon-related drawings in his notebook, most of them involving Guilmon or Terriermon. As the elderly teacher reached the end of his rant, he wrote some questions on the board and walked out of the classroom without explanation.

"Ummm…does he always do that?" Takato heard Steph ask, her voice as soft as it always was.

The boy turned around to see that Steph was sat next to Cam at the desk behind him. Taking a quick look around the room, the brown-haired Tamer saw that Henry was sat at the desk to their right, next to a chavvy-looking girl that he didn't recognize. The girl kept glancing out of the door every ten seconds or so, keeping watch for their returning teacher.

"Yeah, pretty much," Cam's voice rang out as he leaned his chair back on two legs. "I had him last year as well. Practically every lesson he'd just wander out and come back five or ten minutes later. Gives you the perfect chance to mess with him. Like this one time, we decided to tinker around with his swivel-chair so it was about a foot shorter. He nearly had a fit!" the black-haired boy chuckled, then looked at Takato and grinned devilishly. "So, Takato…who's your girlfriend?"

The Tamer flinched as he saw the fury in Rika's eyes. The redhead slowly turned around and fixed Cam with a glare that chilled the black-haired boy to his very soul.

"I. Am NOT. His girlfriend."

Cam merely grinned even wider and masked his fear with another joke. "Oooh, thou doth protest too strongly, methinks!"

"Cam, I'd stop now if I were you…" Takato began, noticing Rika's clenched fists.

"Why? I'm not scared of her!" he lied, standing up and placing a hand on Rika and Takato's shoulders. "I think you two make a perfect cou-YEOWW!"

As soon as Cam's hand touched her shoulder, Rika grabbed it by the wrist and twisted it into a painful arm lock. The boy yelped as she twisted his arm further and further, forcing him to his knees in an attempt to relieve the pain.

"You should be," Takato smirked, shaking his head and making no attempt to help his friend.

"Ow, okay I get it you're not his girlfriend! You can let go now…pretty please?" he begged as Rika showed no sign of releasing him, writing in her notebook while she maintained the painful lock one-handed. "A little _help_ here? Takato? Henry?"

"You reap what you sow, Cam!" Henry laughed and carried on writing.

"He's coming!" the chavvy girl hissed, and Rika released the boy's aching arm suddenly, causing him to fall clumsily to the floor. Cam scrambled to his feet, sitting down at his desk just as Mr Alistair opened the door. The elderly teacher glared at him, having seen the boy's mad dash to his desk through the glass window on the door.

"Cameron, why were you out of your seat?" he droned in what he thought was a threatening tone of voice.

"I, uh…had to borrow Takato's pen?"

The old man sighed, too tired to bother cross-examining his least-favourite student from the previous year. "Very well, just try not to look so suspicious about it."

* * *

The "arm lock incident" was, unfortunately, the high point of Rika's day. While inflicting so much pain on that brainless moron Cam had been enjoyable, the Tamer could easily imagine the rumours that would be travelling around school by the end of the week. _At least they'll probably die out over the weekend…_

_

* * *

_

The girl sighed as she stared at the clock, willing the minute hand to move the last three little notches to 12:10. She was stuck in third period maths, meaning she had been cooped up with Takato and Henry for almost an hour. Fortunately, Gogglehead appeared to have gotten the hang of both sums with negative numbers _and_ keeping his mouth shut, which improved the redhead's mood slightly.

"Now, class, I have an announcement from the headmaster!" their Maths teacher, Mr Ash declared in his usual arrogant tone. The man was about thirty-five, with short, over-gelled black hair and a sneer that made Rika want to rip his head off. "It has come to our attention that a certain student has been spending her lunchtimes on the roof of the science block, instead of in the Dining and Social Area with all the other students. This poses an unacceptable health and safety risk so beginning today, the door to the roof will be locked at all times. We know who you are and expect to see you in the Dining Hall today with everyone else."

_"Buso!" _Rika snarled telepathically, not allowing any emotion onto her face. _"They found out about my spot on the roof. I can't think of anywhere else we can meet, and they say they know it was me and expect to see me in the Dining Hall today."_

_"Is it possible they are bluffing?" _Renamon replied evenly.

_"I'm not sure. The announcement said it was definitely a girl, but it didn't actually name me. That could have been to avoid embarrassment or something, or they might just have gotten a vague description. Either way they'll be watching the roof for a while, so we can't meet today."_

_"Very well. Good luck…"_

_

* * *

_

As Rika walked into the Dining Hall, she was met by a wall of noise. Over five hundred Year 8 and 9 students were packed into the too-small room and courtyard outside. Eyeing the ridiculously long queue for the food counter, the redhead was suddenly glad for the packed lunch her grandmother had insisted on making for her. Dodging through the crowds with the practiced ease of a city kid, Rika found an empty table in a relatively quiet corner and sat down, taking out her lunch and book.

"Uh oh…" Takato mumbled as he spotted the table Rika was sitting at.

"What?" Henry replied while counting out money from his wallet.

"Rika just sat down at Luke Aaron's table!"

"Damn it! The last person stupid enough to do that got put in hospital! We'd better warn her…"

"Too late!" Takato moaned as he spotted Luke Aaron and three of his cronies moving in on the unsuspecting girl.

* * *

"Hey, ginger!" a thuggish voice called out, and Rika took a second to realize it was talking to her. Putting down her book, she looked up to see who it was that had a death wish.

"What?" she replied, undaunted by the sight of four boys looming over her, all of them at least four inches taller than her. Three of them looked practically identical - lean but muscled with short dark hair and identical sneers. Their only distinctive features were the tallest one's look of complete vacancy, the shortest one's incredible ugliness, and the middle one's lack of any distinctive features whatsoever. The fourth member of the group, however - the one who seemed to be the leader - was quite a lot fatter than the others and had blonde hair instead of black.

"You're in our seat," the leader growled. Rika recognized him as the boy Takato had pointed out to her yesterday - Luke Arnold or Andrews or something like that.

"Wow, you plan on sharing this one seat? What're you gonna do - sit on each other's laps?" she said with a smirk, returning to her book.

"What you tryin' to fuckin' say?" Luke yelled and smacked Rika's book out of her hands, grabbing her by the shirt and lifting her off of the seat.

The redhead reacted purely on instinct. She lashed out with her right foot, catching her obese attacker in the groin. As he dropped her and doubled over in agony, she grabbed his head and smashed it into the table. Hard. The sickening crack and screech of pain told Rika that Luke wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

His three henchmen, however, were another matter. The stupid-looking one leapt at Rika, roaring obscenities and drawing back his right arm for an obvious right hook. Rika ducked to the right and threw out her left elbow, catching Stupid in the solar plexus and winding him, then flicked out her left foot and sent him crashing to the ground. The girl took a quick look around, noticing the cheering crowd that had gathered around the brawl, some of them filming the action on their mobile phones. The redhead's attention was quickly brought back to the fight as Ugly rushed forward and punched at her with his left arm. She dodged right again and knocked his arm aside with an open-handed _shuto _block. The boy yelped in agony as his fist slammed into the wall, breaking at least two of his fingers. A pair of kicks to the knees and stomach made sure he was out of action.

Rika glanced at the bland boy, expecting him to rush at her as well. She wasn't disappointed, but as the boy ran towards her, he grabbed an abandoned bottle of water from a nearby table and threw the contents at Rika's face. Momentarily blinded, Rika blocked the boy's first punch through pure luck, but took a kick to the shins and a solid punch to her stomach a second later. With a gasp, she staggered back a step and blocked a third punch aimed at her face, lashing out with her right fist and catching Bland on the chin. The boy was knocked backed a step and Rika prepared to follow up with another punch, only to feel a pair of strong arms encircle her in a powerful bear hug.

"Fuckin'…get 'er!" her captor yelled in a wheezing voice, which the redhead recognized as belonging to Stupid.

Rika struggled in the boy's grip as Bland stormed towards her, murder in his eyes. He drew back his arm and delivered a thundering left hook to the girl's face, stunning her for a second. Rika tasted blood as Bland grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to look at him as he drew back his fist for another punch…

…Only to be knocked to the ground by a high-speed shoulder-barge from Takato. The Tamer landed on top of his target, but was quickly thrown clear by a punch to the face. Bland stood and drew back his foot to kick his attacker in the ribs, but shrieked and fell to the ground as Henry appeared behind him and delivered a crippling kidney punch. This turn of events kept Stupid distracted long enough for Rika to escape from his grip and knee him in the groin. As the boy fell to the ground, squealing like a soprano, the girl felt her adrenaline rush beginning to wear off. Pain from the hits she took to her shin, stomach and face washed over her like a tidal wave. Rika slumped against the wall behind her, wiping a trickle of blood away from the corner of her mouth as she did so.

* * *

A group of five teachers finally managed to break through the roaring crowd, only to stop short as they tried to process the sight that lay before them. A short, redheaded Japanese girl stood over the prone, weeping forms of three of the Year group's most hard-bitten sociopaths, with the fourth member of the prestigious and infamous gang of chavs in the same condition next to Takato Matsuki and Henry Wong - two of the so-called "Good Kids".

With obvious reluctance, one of the teachers rounded up the winners of the fight and led them away. The three Tamers left without struggling as the other teachers began either breaking up the crowd or performing basic first aid on the battered chavs.

* * *

The three victorious brawlers were led up to the staff room, where they were quizzed separately on the details of the fight, then left alone to wait for their parents to arrive. Henry was the only one of them who wasn't hurt in some way - Takato's left eye was swollen shut and Rika's cheek was badly bruised, a smear of blood decorating her chin. The girl had limped the whole way from the Dining Hall, refusing multiple offers of help from Takato, Henry and the teacher. They had been sat there motionless for about fifteen minutes before the uncomfortable silence was broken.

"Rika Nonaka I can NOT believe you!" came a furious shriek as Rumiko Nonaka stomped towards her daughter, Seiko trying desperately to calm her down. "It wasn't enough for you to get kicked out of one school, you had to try and make it happen again! Is this like some badge of honour to you? IS IT?" The blonde-haired woman finally noticed Henry and Takato and glared at them for a second before resuming her rant. "Are these the boys you _attacked_? Looks like you came off worse than they did for once!"

It was at this point that Takato decided to butt in. "Actually…Rika didn't 'attack' anybody-"

"YOU ATTACKED MY DAUGHTER?" she roared and would have leapt at the boys were it not for Seiko's restraining hand.

"No! We were on her side! A bunch of guys ganged up on her, but she beat the living hell out of half of them! Me and Henry only joined in when she started losing!"

This seemed to calm Rumiko down a bit, and the woman turned to her daughter, wincing as she saw the hurt, angry look in her eyes. _Oh, God…I just accused her of being as bad as those girls who made her life a misery back in Japan…no wonder she's mad…_

"Rika, I…I'm sorry…why didn't you say anything?" she stammered, her preconceptions derailed by the new information.

"Because you wouldn't believe me. You obviously think I'm some kind of monster anyway…" the redhead muttered angrily, turning away from her mother's shocked look.

"Ms Nonaka?" a man's voice called, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Rumiko and Seiko turned to see Mr Arnold - a grey-haired man wearing a pinstripe suit - stood at the door. The two women gave Rika a last, sad look before following the headmaster from the room.

A few more minutes of uncomfortable silence followed, before it was broken once again - this time by Rika.

"Why?" she asked, looking at Takato.

"Heh, my mum's ranted at me more times than I can count, and it's bad enough when I deserve it…"

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Gogglehead."

"I know…but why aren't you asking Henry? He helped too!"

"You joined in first. Brainiac only stepped in when you got floored. And stop avoiding the question."

Henry didn't bother denying the girl's words. Rika was right - he had only joined in to help Takato. The blue-haired boy loathed fighting with a passion, and there were few things that could provoke him to violence.

"Damn it…look this is gonna sound stupid…" Takato muttered awkwardly

"Don't worry - after two days stuck with you in Maths I'm pretty much used to your stupidity."

"Hey! Anyway, I thought that no matter how much you seem to hate me, we're all Tamers here. We gotta stick together - you know, look out for each other and stuff! Plus, I kinda thought that if I tried to help you out you'd…well…not rip my head off for annoying you…"

Rika blinked and smirked, wincing as the action pulled at her bruised cheek. "Wow…you were right Gogglehead - that _was_ stupid even by your standards!"

A few minutes later, Rumiko and Seiko returned, the younger of the two women leaving with Rika almost immediately. Seiko stayed behind, waiting until the two were out of earshot, then turned to Takato.

"I recognize you…you're Takato Matsuki, aren't you? Your parents own the bakery, yes? And your name was Henry?" she said softly, continuing when both boys mumbled a "yes, ma'am". "I'd like to thank you for defending my granddaughter during the fight. Though she will probably never say it, she is grateful for what you did for her."

"Uh, you're welcome?" Takato said tentatively as the older woman smiled and walked towards the door.

"TAKATO MATSUKI WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW?" a voice shrieked from the corridor as Takato's parents walked into the room.

"You should be very proud of your son, Mr and Mrs Matsuki," Seiko said with a small smile as she intercepted the angry Japanese woman. "He only entered that fight to protect my granddaughter from a group of bullies. I owe him a great debt."

As Takato's parents stood there stunned, Seiko walked out of the door calmly. As she left, Mei gave her son a look of surprise tinged with a little guilt, while Takehiro…

"So…wounded defending a damsel in distress?" the man chuckled and winked at his son.

_This…is going to be painful…_


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

A quick note on formatting: underlined speech like this: "Hello, I am a lemming!" means the speaker is talking in Japanese.

Also, I've gone back and fixed a few formatting issues in chapters 2 and 3 (horizontal rules missing, that kind of stuff). If I ever forget that in a chapter again, pleas point it out in a review or PM and I'll fix it ASAP.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Training**

The next ten days were…interesting for Takato. He was forced to avoid the main social areas at break and lunchtime, spending most of his free time in the library with Henry. Oddly enough, the library was never actually quiet, being filled with pupils of all ages shouting and laughing throughout lunchtime. Cam and Steph usually joined the Tamers, partly out of pity, but mostly to avoid scum like Luke Aaron who knew of their friendship with the two boys. Rika, on the other hand, seemed to disappear into thin air as soon as the lunch bell rang. Takato had a sneaking suspicion that she was using Renamon's teleportation abilities to do exactly that. The boy had considered asking her about it, but since she was still treating Henry and himself with an unhealthy amount of contempt, he decided against it.

On top of all the bully problems, the Tamers had to deal with a sudden spike in Digimon attacks. There were a total of six Bio-emergences over the first two weeks of the school year. Rika and Renamon handled the first three with ease, with Henry and Terriermon dispatching the fourth Digimon without too much trouble. Takato and Guilmon were the first on the scene at the fifth emergence site, finding themselves up against an angry Vilemon. The goggle-wearing Tamer and his saurian partner had to be bailed out by Henry and Terriermon, the long-eared Digimon being unbearably smug about this little fact for days afterward.

The sixth fight was…different…

* * *

Friday 17th September - 3:35pm

Digital Field, somewhere in Kirkfield Park

"**Bone Club!**"

The ten foot tall green ogre roared in frustration as its golden-furred quarry dodged the attack for the dozenth time.

"Too slow, big boy!" Renamon taunted as she dodged a thirteenth swing of the Ogremon's massive club. The kitsune had not yet been able to get close enough to the foul-smelling Digimon to land an attack, and was now trying to tire her opponent out, weakening him before delivering the killing blow. So far, it didn't seem to be working very well.

_"Change of tactics, Renamon!" _Rika called mentally to her partner, drawing a card from the holder on her belt. _"Try aiming for his eyes, then striking while he's blinded."_

_"Understood…"_

"**Digi-Modify! Target Lock activate!**"

The vulpine Digimon dodged yet another clumsy attack by her opponent before leaping into the air, summoning a cloud of glowing crystals.

"**Diamond St-**OOF!"

Renamon was caught off guard as Ogremon threw his weapon with surprising accuracy straight at her chest. The blow knocked her out of the air and sent her flying into a nearby tree, dispelling her charging attack.

"Renamon!" Rika called out in fear for her wounded partner. The redhead winced as Ogremon turned and glared at her, apparently noticing her presence for the first time. She began searching furiously for a Seed of Health card as the ten-foot tall monster licked his lips and began stomping towards her.

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! I smell-"

"**Pyro Sphere!**"

A ball of red flame struck Ogremon right in his open mouth, stopping him in his tracks and eliciting a surprised yelp from the hungry Champion. Rika used the momentary distraction to her advantage and quickly swiped her Seed of Health Card, restoring much of Renamon's energy. After a couple of seconds, the green creature grinned and let out a loud, foul-smelling belch.

"Mmmm…SPICY!" he mocked before resuming his march towards Rika, only to be met by a charging Guilmon.

"Leave scary girl alone!" the red dinosaur growled, leaping at Ogremon with outstretched claws. "**Rock Br-**URG!" Guilmon was intercepted by a backhand blow from his target, which sent him flying through the air to land on top of his Tamer.

_Stupid Gogglehead! Guilmon's too slow to get within arm's reach of Ogremon…_ Not for the first time, Rika felt herself cursing her fellow Tamer's inability to use modify cards. Renamon used the distraction provided by Guilmon to carry out Rika's original plan of attack, leaping into the air and summoning a second cloud of crystals.

"**Diamond Storm!**"

The white crystals embedded themselves in the green ogre's face and eyes before detonating furiously, tearing his face to ribbons. Ogremon let out a roar of pain and began lashing out at random with his massive fists. Renamon quickly darted beneath his flailing arms, summoning blue flames around her hands and feet.

"**Power Paw!**"

The thunderous uppercut tore straight through the blinded monster's skull, reducing him to fragments of data. Renamon absorbed the fragments immediately, healing the damage that Rika's modify card had been unable to repair. When she was finished, the kitsune turned and walked calmly towards her Tamer.

"Are you alright?" she asked the fiery-haired girl, laughing inwardly at the spark of irritation the question provoked in the redhead.

"Of course I'm alright! He never got anywhere near me!" Rika replied with a touch of annoyance.

"You're welcome!" Guilmon called cheerfully from behind the girl. Rika turned and sighed exasperatedly as she saw that the dinosaur was still sat on top of his suffocating partner.

"We didn't need your help you bread-inhaling moron! And would you get off of Gogglehead before you crush him to death…"

The red dinosaur looked down, finally noticing what he was sat on and leapt to his feet with a confused look.

"Takatomon? Why is your face purple? Are you turning into a plum?"

The boy merely groaned and shook his head before getting to his feet shakily. "We really need to put you on a diet boy…"

"Good idea! Maybe if he loses enough weight he'll be able to move faster than a one-legged turtle!" Rika called as she began to walk away from England's version of the dimwit duo, Renamon phasing out of view a second later.

"Well, if you'd just show me how to use those modify cards I'd be able to make him a little faster!" the boy replied, running to catch up with the redhead.

"Do I look like a schoolteacher to you?" she replied curtly, not even bothering to turn around.

"Look, I know you hate me and everything, but think about it logically!" Takato pleaded as he leapt in front of his fellow Tamer, stopping her in her tracks. "What if there's a Bio-emergence and you're miles away? Or if you're ill? Or if you can't get away from your parents?"

"It's _parent_ Gogglehead. Singular. And I don't get sick!" Rika spat venomously, pushing past Takato and keeping walking for a few steps before pausing as Renamon made contact with her telepathically.

_"He does have a point, you know. Remember what happened in our battle with that Monochromon? You were in hospital for a week and Jeri had to handle things practically on her own. Imagine the results if Takato and Guilmon were left as sole protectors of the area in their current state…" _

Rika winced as she imagined the nationwide devastation that would inevitably follow in such a scenario. "_I guess it could be…useful to have more than one competent Tamer in the country…"

* * *

_

"Alright, Gogglehead, I'll show you how to use the stupid cards. Meet me at Guilmon's cave in half an hour - and bring some sausage rolls with you!"

Takato blinked, surprised by Rika's seemingly-spontaneous change of heart. "Great, thanks! Uh…wait, what do sausage rolls have to do with Taming?"

The redhead shook her head in exasperation and started walking again. "The sausage rolls are for eating, you moron - I'm starving!"

Takato grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, never thought of that…can you get back to the hideout on your own, boy?"

"Uh-huh!" Guilmon nodded excitedly before sprinting towards the tree line, making an unbelievable amount of noise as he crashed through the undergrowth.

"Could you at least _try_ to be stealthy?" the boy called after his partner as he set off home at a much more comfortable pace. It was only as he walked in through the back door of the bakery that he realised something.

_Wait a minute…how does she know where Guilmon's cave is?

* * *

_

Guilmon's Den, Kirkfield Park - 4:05pm

Takato frowned in confusion as he spotted Guilmon slumped dejectedly at the bottom of a large hill, just outside the concealed entrance to his den. The boy walked up to his partner, making sure to keep the bag of food he was carrying hidden behind his back.

"Hey, boy! What are you doing out here?" he asked, patting the miserable dinosaur on the head.

"Renamon threw me out 'cause Rika kept yelling at me for getting in the way…"

"Oh, right…I'll go have a word with her, see if she'll let you come back in!"

* * *

Rika turned out to be much easier to convince than Takato had anticipated. She immediately folded when Takato offered her a week's supply of free sausage rolls if she'd let Guilmon sit in on the lessons.

_Damn it…I can't believe he's discovered my only weakness… _the redhead thought semi-sarcastically as she munched away happily on one of the freshly-baked delights Takato had brought with him.

"Um, Rika?" the goggle-wearing Tamer mumbled nervously while glancing around the cave. Guilmon's den had a two metre high roof, was about three metres wide and extended about ten metres back into the hill. "I was just thinking…this might not be the best place to learn to use modify cards - what if one of Guilmon's attacks caves the roof in or something?"

Rika sighed and glared at the Gogglehead. "We're not gonna try it out on real Digimon yet, Gogglehead. First I'm gonna teach you how to play the card game."

"Uh, okay…why?" Takato replied as the girl reached into her backpack and took out a card reader, a large torch and two lunchboxes filled to the brim with cards.

"Mainly because the basic principles are the same as in a real battle, but also because I'm bored and feel like completely destroying someone."

"Oh, okay then…"

"Let's get started. You've got a bunch of different types of Digimon card - these are your attack cards, these are your…"

* * *

5:10pm

After a little over an hour, Takato had lost count of the number of games he had played (and lost). He had grasped the basic principles pretty quickly, but Rika was just too good for him - she used ingenious combos, devious strategies and had an irritating habit of tricking Takato into thinking he was winning before finishing him off dramatically.

"You could try going easy on me, you know?" the boy said after one particularly swift defeat.

"I _am_ going easy on you. If I went any easier I'd just be handing you a win."

"That doesn't sound too bad to me! I wouldn't mind if I actually started getting better - if anything you've been killing me even quicker these last few games!"

Rika sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to fight off the headache Takato's loud voice was causing. "You _are_ getting better, Gogglehead! The reason I'm killing you quicker is because you're not leaving yourself open to my blindingly obvious, longwinded and humiliating strategies anymore."

"Oh, um…thanks…I think…"

The redhead glanced at her watch and sighed. "Ah, crap…I gotta get home for dinner…"

Takato grinned and leaned back against the cave wall. "Wow, I didn't realise you enjoyed spending time with me so much!"

Rika glared at the boy, shutting him up and turning his grin into a look of sheer terror. "It's not that you moron - my mum comes back from London every Friday and I have to sit through the Spanish Inquisition about my week while we're eating dinner."

"Oh, right…so why does your mum go to London? And who do you live with when she's not around?" he asked as Rika put away her massive collection of cards.

"What's with all the questions? You stalking me or something? Or maybe those rumours are true and you _are_ in love with me!" Rika teased, nearly cracking up as Takato's face turned as red as Guilmon's.

"What? NO WAY! I…I mean I…no! I…I'm just curious!"

"Well, save your curiosity Lover Boy. Be here at 10am tomorrow if you want more practice. And if you tell anyone apart from Brainiac that I'm training you, I'll gut you with your own shin bone!"

"Message received…"

* * *

Saturday, 18th September - 10:30am

Guilmon's Den

Takato and Rika had been playing the Digimon card game for half an hour when Guilmon began complaining that he was bored. The redhead's limited patience quickly wore thin and she eventually turned to Takato with a mischievous glint in her eye that terrified the Tamer more than anything he had ever seen.

"Gogglehead, I think it's time we moved on to using modify cards for real!" she said, a cold smirk on her face.

"Really? Awesome!" Takato exclaimed, his fear overshadowed by his excitement. "Do you hear that boy?"

"YAY! I'm gonna get moditifi…modicif…modigimo…"

"Digi-modified?" Renamon called from her vantage point outside the cave.

"YEAH! That thing!" the child-like dinosaur laughed gleefully, leapt out of his den and began running in circles. The two Tamers followed the ecstatic Digimon out of the cave, shielding their eyes from the bright sunlight.

"We need somewhere open but out of the way for this next part…" Rika said thoughtfully, peering out at the trees around them.

"I think I know a place - there's a clearing this way, come on!" Takato said before wandering off into the forest. Rika and Renamon immediately set off after him, Guilmon following when he realised he was being left behind.

When they reached the clearing, Rika took a look around. It was perfect - lots of open space, but in the middle of the forest so nobody was likely to stumble across them. There were even a couple of dead logs on the ground and a cluster of rocks which would make perfect target practice.

"Okay, Gogglehead," the redhead said in her best "all-business" tone of voice. "Renamon and I will give you a little demonstration, then you can have a try. Ready Renamon?"

"Of course," the vulpine warrior replied, phasing into existence on the ground next to her Tamer.

"Alright then, let's see…how about this one…**Digi-Modify! Hyper Wing activate!**"

Three pairs of glowing, bird-like wings materialised on Renamon's back, drawing gasps of wonder from Takato and Guilmon. The kitsune quickly took to the skies, weaving between the trees and performing a series of graceful aerial manoeuvres before landing back where she started, the wings disintegrating into spare data.

"That…was so…COOL!" Takato yelled excitedly and turned to Rika. "I have GOT to try that on Guilmon!"

"Not so fast! Hyper Wing takes a long time for a Digimon to master - even one as experienced as Renamon. I'd recommend starting with something a little simpler, like a speed or strength card."

"Uh, okay then…" the brown-haired boy mumbled, taking the Hyper Speed card offered to him by Rika. As he was about to slash the card through his D-Arc, he paused and glanced nervously at his fellow Tamer. "Uh, Rika…there's something that's been bugging me…"

"Spit it out, then!" she growled, wanting to get this over with.

"Um…do I have to shout the whole 'Digi-Modify' thing? I just think it'll make me look kinda…dumb…"

The redhead narrowed her eyes angrily, glaring at Takato. "Are you saying I look stupid when I slash cards?"

"N-no! I just think I won't be able to pull it off quite so well…" Takato babbled, thinking quicker than he ever had in his life.

"You're a terrible liar, Gogglehead. And yes, you do have to say the whole 'Digi-Modify' line. It's kind of an involuntary thing…you'll see what I mean when you slash the card."

"Oh, okay. In that case…**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

_Wow, she wasn't kidding! The words just shot out of my mouth as soon as I slashed the card…_

Guilmon leapt into action, running around in circles at incredible speed before starting to do laps of the clearing while shouting "WHEEEE!" at the top of his lungs. After a few seconds of this, Rika handed Takato another card.

"Here, try this one!"

"Okay…**Digi-Modify! Rock Armour activate!**"

Guilmon stopped in his tracks as his skin turned brown then suddenly hardened. After a few seconds, the Digimon was completely encased in stone.

"Guilmon!" Takato yelped and ran over to his petrified partner. "What have I done to you, boy?"

"Oh, relax. It'll wear off in about ten minutes. Until then, let's make the most of the silence and have another card game."

The brown-haired Tamer reluctantly left the stone dinosaur and sat down next to Rika, taking the deck of cards she offered him.

"You know, Goggles, you should really get your own deck of cards. That way you'll be able to get cards of your own favourite Digimon, like your little fossil over there," the redhead smirked, pointing at Guilmon.

"Hehe, good idea. I actually have a few out-dated cards at home, but I doubt I could get a Guilmon card…" the boy replied sadly.

"So it's a rare card? You can buy them pretty cheap online, you know."

Takato gave Rika an odd look before understanding dawned on him. "It's not that it's rare, it's that aren't _any_ Guilmon cards."

"That's impossible - every Digimon has a card! How can he not have one?"

"Because I created him," Takato explained. Seeing Rika's sceptical look he elaborated a little. "When I got my D-Arc, it scanned some drawings I made of Guilmon and created him based on the stats I made up for him. He Bio-emerged in the middle of the park the next day."

"Wait, he was born at Rookie level?" Rika looked confused for a second before an idea occurred to her. "Exactly when did he Bio-emerge?"

"Um, let me think…I think it was ten days before the fight with Airdramon, which means he was born on…August 14th!"

"You're telling me he's only a month old?" _No wonder he's so childish…_

"Um, yeah. Why, how old is Renamon?"

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?" Rika smirked as Takato began to look uncomfortable.

"Actually, I am technically not a 'lady'. Digimon do not have biological genders like hum-"

"Yeah, yeah I know. You've given me this talk before remember? And I still don't believe you!" Rika rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively as Renamon gave a smirk so tiny that Takato almost missed it. "Anyway, I met Renamon about five months ago, and she'd been wandering the Digital World for years before that."

"Whoa…you've been a Tamer for five months? How are you not dead from exhaustion?" Takato gasped, shocked that anyone could keep up the routine of constant fighting for so long.

"Back in Tokyo there were four Tamers besides me, which made things a little easier…well, some of the time, anyway. Also Digimon tended to Bio-emerge between 10am and 6pm, instead of in the middle of the night."

"Four other Tamers…whoa…and to think I always assumed me and Henry were the only ones. What are they like? And what are their names?"

"Ryo is an arrogant asshole who's hardly ever around. Kazu is a useless fanboy who worships the ground Ryo walks on. Kenta's okay, I guess - a little quiet, and he needs to grow a backbone. He always follows Kazu around and acts like his little slave, which is pretty annoying. Jeri is…a good person. That's the only way I can think of describing her."

Takato nodded as he processed this new information. "Who are their partners?"

"Ryo's partnered with a Cyberdramon, Kazu with a Guardromon, Kenta with a MarineAngemon and Jeri has Leomon."

"What? They're all Champions or above! And MarineAngemon's a Mega!"

Rika grinned evilly. "Yep, and Renamon kicked all their butts at one time or another. Well, except Cyberdramon. _She_ never got into a fight with him…" she trailed off and shuddered suddenly, looking thoughtfully into the distance and rubbing at her throat subconsciously.

"Uh, Rika?" Takato called hesitantly, a little worried by the girl's sudden space-out.

"What? I mean…" Rika coughed a little before continuing. "What do you want now? You gonna ask me even more personal questions?"

"No, it's just you looked a little…weird for a second there. Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be? Stupid Gogglehead…"

Takato was surprised at the venom in her voice. _There's obviously something wrong…ah, well - I guess if she doesn't wanna talk about it…_

A loud beeping interrupted the boy's thoughts, and he turned to see Rika pull an iPhone out of her pocket. She pressed a couple of buttons, then stared at the screen for a second before cursing loudly.

"Shit!"

"Uh, something the matter?"

"Now, what gave you that idea? OF COURSE THERE'S SOMETHING THE MATTER! My mum is bringing some big fashion magazine guy over for lunch and she wants me to be there to entertain his bratty son…" The girl groaned and buried her head in her hands.

"Ouch…anything I can do to help?"

"Got a 12 gauge shotgun I can borrow?"

"Uh, no…"

"Then you're not much use for anything, are you Gogglehead?" Rika sighed and got to her feet slowly. "I've got to go get ready. Same time again tomorrow for your lesson?"

"Yeah, sure. Do you mind if I bring Henry along?"

"Go ahead, as long as you pay me another week's worth of sausage rolls. Maybe his partner'll be slightly less annoying…"

Takato grinned as Rika said the last part. "You really haven't spent much time around Terriermon have you?"

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 3:30pm

_That…was…HELLISH!_ Rika thought as she slumped onto her futon, exhausted from having to put up with Michael Kaidan's bratty son. The self-obsessed fashion magazine editor and his equally narcissistic offspring had stayed at the house for over three hours, two hours of which the girl had been forced to spend alone in the vile fourteen-year-old's company.

_What the HELL was mum thinking? The guy was almost three years older than me, we had nothing in common, he was more stuck up than the royal freaking family - and I'm not even __**remotely**__ interested in boys yet! It's a miracle I didn't __**KILL **__that slimeball! I wish she'd stop trying to set me up with strangers…or with anyone at all for that matter!_

_"In that case, I would recommend that you __**not**__ tell your mother about the time you are spending with Takato."_

Rika blinked in surprise. She hadn't even realised that she had been sending her thoughts telepathically. _Damn, it's been a while since I lost control like that._

_"Just what is that supposed to mean?" _the redhead growled mentally, sending her thoughts on purpose this time.

_"Nothing, except that Takato is the first boy that I can remember you willingly spending any real amount of time with. Your mother could easily get the wrong idea, much like you just did."_

_"That's ridiculous! I don't even __**like**__ the stupid Gogglehead! I'm only training him so that I can have a break from kicking ass every once in a while. And I'm gonna be training Henry too, remember?"_

_"Yes, but you cannot tell your mother about any of that without revealing my existence."_

_"Good point…I'm gonna have to start coming up with some convincing lies…"_

_"The best lies are ones that have an element of truth in them - if she ever finds out, tell her that you are teaching them to play the card game."_

_"Renamon, that has got to be the most…wait a minute, you have a point…it could even come in useful as an excuse if she ever overheard me talking about a battle…"_

Renamon let a small smile grace her features as she de-digivolved to Viximon. _"And to think you doubted me…"

* * *

_

Sunday 19th September - 11:30am

_I hate to admit it but…Brainiac is pretty damn good at this! _Rika thought as she watched Henry lead Takato's Greymon into a devious trap. _I can only think of five ways to escape from the little kill zone he has set up there, and I don't think Goggles is smart enough to spot any of them…not bad for his first day._

Henry had spent an hour battling against Rika, learning the basic principles of the game. The blue-haired Tamer had caught on pretty quickly and showed a natural flair for strategy. He did, however, have more than a little trouble with visualising the battles in his mind's eye - a rather ironic weakness, considering his line of work. This meant that he often left out certain important details or scenarios when making his strategies - such as Takato using a Hyper Wing card to escape the sneak attack from Henry's MachGaogamon.

_Never thought Gogglehead had it in him…_ Rika smirked as Takato digivolved his Vaccine-Type Greymon to the Virus-Type SkullGreymon, stealing the type advantage from Henry. One Hyper Speed card and a series of brutal attacks later, and SkullGreymon was munching on MachGaogamon's scattered data.

"Not bad, Gogglehead. I expected Henry to tear you apart with that trap, but you spotted the main flaw - he didn't plan for a flying opponent escaping his close-in attacks."

"Hehe…actually I just liked the image of a flying Greymon…" Takato lied badly, uncomfortable with the praise from the girl who terrified him.

"Takato, you really need to learn how to take a compliment…" Henry chuckled and grinned at his friend's discomfort.

Terriermon let out a small giggle, and began to sing mockingly. "Takato and Rika, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-URGH!"

"I'M GONNA RIP YOU IN TWO YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Rika roared as she began strangling the little dog-rabbit, only relenting when he fired a "**Bunny Blast**" at the wall behind the furious redhead, showering her with flying dirt.

"Gee, thanks for all the help Henry! Man, Rika, you need to mo-"

"If you say Momentai I swear to all the kami that I will rip off your horn and gouge out your eyes with it."

"…Mosey on up to the bakery? I hear they got a fresh shipment of sausage rolls…" Terriermon said, wincing as a cold smirk flickered across the girl's face.

"First of all, Goggles already paid me two weeks' supply to teach you guys. Second, they don't get shipments of food you moron - they bake it themselves. It's in the name - say it with me, now: _BAKERY_!"

"Anyway…" Takato interrupted, trying to steer Rika's attention away from the dangerously irritating green-and-white bundle of sarcasm that was Terriermon. "Where did _you_ learn to play cards, Rika? You must have had a good teacher…"

"I had the best - myself."

"Wait, you taught yourself? How did you learn all those strategies and combos?" Henry piped up, a look of respect on his face.

"I made most of the strategies up myself, and used common sense and my imagination to figure out the combos. Anything else came through experience."

"Whoa…you said they had card competitions back in Japan, right? Did you ever enter one?" Takato asked.

"Rika entered as many tournaments as she qualified for every year. You are looking at the four-time Japanese national champion of the Digimon Card Battle Game," Renamon's voice called from outside, tinged with more than a little pride.

_"Great, why don't you just go ahead and tell them the colour of my underwear while you're at it?" _Rika sent, her mental voice tinged with annoyance.

_"The way that you are sitting, I'm pretty sure Terriermon has a good view of that anyway…"_

Sure enough, as she had sat down in the spacious cave, Rika's shirt had ridden up and her jeans had ridden down, revealing a line of violet waistband sticking out above the girl's belt. Rika humphed and adjusted her position, hiding the offending clothing before meeting Takato's awed stare.

"What, you think I signed my name as 'The Digimon Queen' just for kicks? I had to earn that title, you know!" she growled, enjoying the fear that flashed across Takato's face.

"Wow, you really weren't kidding when you said you had the best teacher…" Henry joked.

"Damn straight! Okay, I gotta get home, but before I go you might as well try using a modify card on Terriermon - here, use this…" the redhead said, trying to repress a sadistic grin as she handed the blue-haired Tamer the card.

"Okay…**Digi-Modify! Rock Armour activate!**"

_"Why didn't I think of that an hour ago?"

* * *

_

Guilmon's Den - 1:15pm

Takato groaned as he lost his fifth game in a row to Henry. The half-Chinese Tamer had learned from his mistakes, and had quickly started tearing Takato to shreds in practically every game they played. The pair were playing with spare card readers and cards that they had borrowed from Rika in return for a third week of free sausage rolls. _Damn it! At this rate I'll be neck-deep in debt by the time I'm thirteen! I'm gonna have to get Henry to start paying for half of Rika's supplies…_

"WOOHOO! Go Henry! Who da man? WHO DA MAN?" Terriermon whooped as he began dancing on top of his Tamer's head, only to be silenced by a quick knuckle-rap to the head from the blue-haired boy.

"Terriermon…"

"Momentai! Takatomon's gotta be used to it by now!"

Henry sighed and shook his head gently, causing his partner to lose his balance and fall painfully to the floor. "One of these days I'm gonna have to teach you the meaning of the word 'tact'…"

"He does have a point, though," Takato laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You've beaten me in practically every game we've played, and we've been at it all day. I think I need a break. And maybe something to eat…"

As the last sentence left Takato's mouth, the gently-snoring form of Guilmon suddenly sat bolt upright and opened its eyes. "Food?" he said hopefully, gazing at his Tamer with his best 'puppy-dog' eyes.

"Wow, Takatomon had a good idea…" Terriermon said sarcastically as his stomach rumbled noisily. "I need to get some food soon or I'm gonna pass out!"

"And that would be _such _a shame…" Henry grinned, picking up his diminutive partner.

"I'll head back to the bakery and grab some stuff for us. What do you guys want?"

Takato immediately regretted his display of goodwill as Guilmon and Terriermon launched into seemingly-endless lists of the food they wanted. Their excited rambling was only interrupted several minutes later by an incessant beeping coming from Takato and Henry's digivices.

"Uh-oh - a Bio-emergence signal! Looks like you're gonna have to work for that feast, boy!" the goggle-wearing Tamer joked as he leapt out of the den, following the arrow on his D-Arc's holographic compass.

* * *

Takato's D-Arc led the group to the clearing where Rika had petrified Guilmon the previous day. A thick cloud of fog extended five metres beyond the edge of the clearing in every direction.

"Wow, this isn't good…I've never seen a Digital Field as big as that!" Henry gasped, fear plain in his voice.

"Yeah, I don't wanna think about what could make a cloud that big…" Terriermon said from atop his Tamer's head and shivered, equally worried.

"Come on guys - whatever it is, he's no match for Guilmon! And anyway, even if we do get into trouble, Rika and Renamon are nearby, remember?" Takato grinned confidently, trying to reassure his friends.

"Yeah, anyone who isn't scared of those two needs their head checking out!" Terriermon laughed until a knuckle-rap from Henry shut him up.

"Terriermon…let's just get in there before we come to our senses," Henry joked and walked cautiously forwards into the Digital Field, Takato and Guilmon following close behind.

"Whoa, creepy…" Takato mumbled as the group made their way through the mist-shrouded trees into the clearing itself. Terriermon began whistling a funeral march, but stopped when they caught sight of their opponent stood on the far side of the clearing.

It was massive - at least eight feet tall. The Digimon could have easily been mistaken for an oversized gorilla were it not for the massive minigun replacing its right hand.

"Why did it have to be BlackGorillamon?" Terriermon sighed, unwittingly drawing the massive ape's attention.

"You couldn't have just kept quiet for five more seconds, could you?" Henry yelled as BlackGorillamon levelled his arm cannon at the group. They scattered as a hail of bullets shredded the ground they had been standing on half a second earlier.

"Ah, would you just momentai and MODIFY ME ALREADY?" the diminutive Digimon yelled in his Tamer's ear angrily, startling the boy into action.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

"OH YEAH!" the dog-bunny cheered as he leapt at his attacker. "**Terrier Tornado!**"

As the small green tornado rocketed at BlackGorillamon, the ape merely raised his gun arm and swung it, hitting Terriermon through the air like a baseball. The little Digimon slammed into a tree with bone-breaking force, landing in a fortuitously-placed patch of stinging nettles. With a grin, the black-furred Digimon pointed his arm cannon at the now-concussed Terriermon, the motors whirring as the barrels cycled up to full speed.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Wing activate!**" Takato yelled from the ape's right and Guilmon leapt into the air as three pairs of glowing wings materialised on his back. The red dinosaur slammed into his opponent's face, knocking the massive Digimon back a step before he levelled his cannon at the flying saurian.

"Takatomon! I can't stooooooop!" Guilmon yelped as he narrowly dodged a volley of bullets. The child-like Digimon was out of control - he kept ricocheting off of tree trunks every few seconds. Ironically, his erratic flight path was the only thing that kept him from being reduced to mincemeat by the bullets being fired at him. Guilmon's luck ran out as BlackGorillamon's next shots tore through his wings, reducing them to spare data and sending the saurian crashing to the ground with a yelp. The dinosaur leapt to his feet quickly, taking cover behind a small pile of rocks.

_Damn, Rika wasn't kidding about that Hyper Wing card…_ Takato thought as he searched for a useful card. The boy started to panic when he couldn't find anything useful, and ended up fumbling and dropping the deck.

"Damn it!" he cried as he tried to gather up the scattered cards.

"I hate to borrow a line from Rabbitmon, but you need to momentai Gogglehead!" a familiar voice called from behind the Tamer. He stood up and turned around, grinning as he realised who had spoken.

"Rika! Boy, am I glad to see you - Guilmon's in trouble, you gotta help him!"

"No."

"WHAT? What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean no. I can't keep holding your hand forever, you know! You're gonna have to win this on your own."

"PLEASE! He's gonna get pulverized out there!"

"No, he's not. Because you are gonna snap the hell out of it and look at those cards again. You already have exactly what you need right there in your hand."

The goggle-wearing Tamer looked at the cards in his hand, seeing a WarGreymon card, a Seed of Health card and a Strength card. _It's all useless - WarGreymon's shield is way too heavy for a Rookie to lift. Wait a second…if I use the Strength card, then WarGreymon…_

"ARGH! I'm so STUPID! How did I not see that before?" he yelled in frustration, taking the two cards he needed.

"Because you were too busy panicking to think straight!" Rika snapped, crossing her arms and leaning against a tree.

"Alright, here we go…**Digi-Modify! Strength activate! WarGreymon's Brave Shield activate!**"

A massive golden shield materialised in Guilmon's hands as he felt an incredible burst of strength flow through his limbs. The red dinosaur leapt out from cover and charged at BlackGorillamon, using the shield to protect himself from the hail of bullets. The ape quickly switched tactics – the multiple barrels of his minigun fused into a single larger one and a golden glow began to suffuse his arm cannon as he called out his most powerful attack.

"**Battle Cannon!**"

Guilmon leapt forwards, pressing his shield against the barrel of the cannon just as BlackGorillamon fired. The energy bolt detonated before it could leave the barrel, tearing the cannon to shreds in a blaze of golden light and reducing its owner to free-floating data. Guilmon didn't absorb the data, leaving it for the wounded Terriermon, who was currently trying to talk around a mouthful of nettles.

"Oh, gy aching heg. What the…I can'th theel gy dung. HERRO? CAN THUMGOGGY SHWIKE A SHEEG OB HEALTH CARG?"

Henry did as his partner asked, only to collapse howling with laughter as the rabbit tried to talk again.

"Ah, nuck gekker. GAH! I SHTILL can'th theel gy dung! HENRYYY!"

"Wow, today really couldn't get any better could it? I don't need to babysit Gogglehead anymore, Rabbitmon can't talk…" Rika said sarcastically, smirking at Terriermon's angry glare.

"Rika…only you could pull an insult from the jaws of victory…" Henry sighed, handing an armful of dock leaves to his furious partner.

* * *

"I'm back," Rika typed into the text box of her instant messaging program.

"How did it go?" the reply came within a few seconds

"Piece of cake. Guilmon was getting his butt whipped by a BlackGorillamon and Goggles was having a panic attack when I arrived. I had to give him a…pep talk before he realised he was holding the perfect card combo."

" 'Pep talk'? You didn't hit him did you?"

"No, I didn't hit him…" Rika typed with a sigh.

"Oh, good. Wait a minute - I thought u said they didn't know how 2 use modify cards?"

"I've been teaching them how to play the card game and use cards in battle since Friday."

"Awww…is my 'ickle Rika making some new friends?"

"Jeri, if you _ever _do that again I swear I'll fly all the way back to Japan just to kick your ass!" the redhead replied with an angry growl.

"…Yes ma'am…"

"And no, I'm not making friends. I can barely stand to be in the same room as them."

"So…why are you doing it then?"

"It was Gogglehead's idea, and Renamon convinced me to go along with it. This way we have some backup Tamers in case I get run over by another Monochromon."

"Yeah, that was a RUFF couple of weeks…" came the reply after a few seconds and Rika let out another irritated sigh as she quickly typed her own answer.

"You just typed that with the sock puppet didn't you?

"…Maybe…"

"Next time please don't use such a horrible pun."

"Okay…Damn it I have to go. My dad realised I was still on the computer."

"You're gonna have fun getting up for school tomorrow…"

"Yup. See ya! Xxxxxxxxxx"


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Busted**

Tuesday 21st September - 10:21am

Redcliff Mount High School, Room P16 - History Block

As Mr. Alistair finished his latest rant on medieval society and walked out of the classroom, Cam grinned and leaned back on his chair.

"Twenty-six minutes…" he mumbled as he gazed at the ceiling.

"Cam, what are you on about?" Steph sighed, gently slapping her friend round the back of the head to wake him from his daydream.

"Ow! What was that for?" he whined and glared at the girl.

"Fun. Now, what's this about twenty-six minutes?"

"You've been spending too much time with Rika…and I've noticed that Big Al always leaves the classroom exactly twenty-six minutes into the lesson. Weird, huh?"

Takato turned around and joined in on the conversation. "Not on Fridays - then he usually doesn't leave 'til, like, nearly the end of the lesson."

"Yeah, I'm still working out the exact timings for Fridays, but it looks like around forty, forty-five minutes in."

"Damn, and I thought Mr. Alistair was boring…" Rika muttered as she doodled a stylized taijitu symbol on her already-completed work.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Cam exclaimed and glared at Rika's back.

"Only that if you can't find anything better to talk about than the timing of your teacher's bathroom breaks, then you _really _need to get a life."

"She has a point there…" Steph laughed, grinning at Cam's flustered expression.

"Fine…Takato, you think of something to talk about!"

"What? Why me?" the brown-haired Tamer groaned.

"Because I said so, now talk!"

"Ummm…okay…hey, I know - I can't believe the trip to France is next Friday!"

Steph grinned and shot a glance over at Henry. "I know, and us three will be leaving poor Henry all on his lonesome…"

Cam and Takato nearly jumped out of their seats as a loud thud reverberated around the classroom. The boys looked at Rika to see that she had slammed her forehead against the table and was now muttering angrily.

"You have GOT to be kidding me…"

"Awww…what's the matter Rika? Gonna miss my razor-sharp wit?" Cam teased, unable to keep a straight face.

"Miss it? I'm gonna be stuck with it for a whole freaking week!" the redhead groaned, slamming her head into the desk again.

"Wait…you're going? But they gave the forms out last year!" Takato exclaimed in a confused voice.

"Apparently, there was a spare place and my mum just _had_ to sign me up…"

"Hang on, you don't want to go?" Steph asked.

"No I don't want to go! I didn't want to go even before I learned Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber were going, so how do you think I feel now?"

"Hey! Wait, am I Dumb or Dumber?" Cam butted in, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Rika turned and fixed him with an icy glare before she started talking. "The fact that you can't figure it out on your own should be a pretty big clue…"

Steph laughed at this and shot Takato a grin. "Damn, Takato, I think that's the closest thing to a compliment you'll ever get out of Rika!"

"Being smarter than Cam isn't much of a compliment, though…" Henry chipped in, laughing at his friend's outraged look.

"Hey, what is this? Gang up on Cam day? Don't make me go all Kung Fu on yo ass!" the black-haired boy said in an agonisingly terrible American accent.

"Uh, Cam? You're forgetting that I really _do_ know martial arts and so does Rika," Henry laughed, glancing at the female Tamer before continuing. "And if I were you, I'd be shutting up right about now…unless you want a repeat of the arm lock incident…"

Cam glanced at the redhead and winced as she cracked her knuckles loudly. "Shutting up now…"

* * *

2:46pm

Outside Redcliff Mount High School

"Hey, Takato!" a voice called from behind the brown-haired Tamer. He turned to see Cam and Steph running towards him eagerly.

"Hey guys! What's up?" he replied, waiting for them to reach him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come round to my house and hang out. Me and Steph are trying to finish Halo ODST on Legendary and we need a little help," Cam said, grinning sheepishly.

"Ah, damn it! I can't guys, sorry. I have to…ah…work at the bakery!"

"Oh, okay then…um, see you tomorrow I guess."

"See ya!"

When Takato was out of earshot, Cam frowned and turned to face Steph. "Is it just me, or was Takato lying through his teeth?"

The blonde-haired girl nodded and looked thoughtfully at the rapidly-retreating Gogglehead. "Yeah, he was…pretty badly, actually, if it was obvious enough for _you_ to notice."

"I'd say 'Hey!' out of principle, but you have a point. I say we follow him, find out where he's really going!"

"Agreed."

* * *

The pair followed their brown-haired friend back to the bakery where he lived and worked. After about five minutes, Takato leapt out of the door wearing his usual blue hoody and khaki cargo pants, with the addition of an over-stuffed backpack.

"Bye mum, bye dad. I'm going to Henry's!"

"Be back by five thirty!" a woman's voice shouted after the boy as he set off up the road at a run. Cam and Steph had to hide behind a parked car to avoid being spotted by the boy.

"Damn, he can move fast," Cam muttered as he set off after Takato at a run, keeping low so that he wouldn't be seen.

"Yeah…wait, didn't Henry say he had Tai Chi on Tuesdays?" Steph asked as she tried to keep up with her much taller friend.

"Yeah, he did…boy, Takato really _does_ suck at lying."

"Hmmm…I wonder what's in the bag."

"Food? Drugs? Guns?"

"Damn it Cam can you not…Wait, he's headed for the park! I wonder why he's going there…"

Cam shot the girl a dirty grin and stopped running. "Maybe he's going to meet his sweetheart, Rika…"

Steph rolled her eyes and sighed. "That was just a stupid rumour - hell, Luke Aaron probably started it after Rika, Takato and Henry beat the crap out of him and his henchmen."

"Every rumour has a grain of truth…"

"Like the one about you and Natalie Kingmaker?"

The boy shuddered and began to look violently ill. "Point taken…But I still don't see why he's always nice to her in school, even when she's such a cold-hearted psycho and treats us all like crap!"

"Takato's nice to pretty much everybody. And Rika's not _that_ bad…"

"Easy for you to say - she didn't nearly break your arm off!"

"Oh, stop exaggerating. Let's just keep following him - I wanna know why that jerk blew us off!"

* * *

They followed Takato from a safe distance, easily keeping sight of the boy thanks to his bright blue backpack and hoody. The boy stopped in the middle of the forest, took off his backpack and began shouting at a large hill.

"Here, boy! I got some food for you!"

"Looks like the Mighty Matsuki has finally lost it…" Cam groaned before calling out to the brown-haired boy. "So, tell me again what this has to do with working at the bakery?"

"GAH!" Takato yelped and spun around so fast he nearly fell over. "Cam? Steph? What are you doing here?"

"We could tell you were lying about working tonight, so we decided to follow you and find out why you blew us off!" the normally-timid girl growled and glared at the boy.

_Wow, she really __**has**__ been spending too much time around Rika._ Cam thought as he walked towards his flustered friend.

"So, who were you shouting to? An invisible pet?" the black-haired boy teased, looking around at the surrounding woodland. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin when a growling voice rang out, seemingly from inside the hill.

"I smell Takatomon…and…" _sniff, sniff._ "FOOD!"

A red blur flew through the air and slammed into Takato, knocking him to the ground. Steph screamed as she saw a black-striped red dinosaur sat on her friend's chest, its mouth open wide, ready to…

…Lick his face?

"YAY! TAKATOMON'S HERE!" the creature cheered in a child-like voice, licking the brown-haired boy's face relentlessly.

"Guilmon! Get off me!"

"Oh, sorry…" the saurian mumbled and climbed off of the boy's chest.

"What…the hell…is that?" Cam stammered, pointing at the red dinosaur.

"Takatomon…" he whined, pointing back at the black-haired boy. "I thought Henry said it was rude to point!"

"It is boy, but…ah, damn it. This is gonna take some explaining."

"Damn right it is! You told Henry about this guy and not us? We've been friends since, like, FOREVER! Steph, back me up here!"

"He's…so…CUTE!" the blonde-haired girl shrieked before leaping at Guilmon and hugging him relentlessly.

"Ah, help me Takatomon! She's trying to load my data!"

Takato nearly fell over from laughing so hard. "No she isn't, boy! That's called a hug!"

"Oh, I know about those! Terriermon told me about them! He said Henry's mum does those to Henry!" The childlike saurian turned and looked at Steph curiously. "Does this mean that you're my mommy?"

"Awww…" the girl squealed before tightening her hug, nearly crushing the breath out of the poor dinosaur.

"Ow! Takato…mon…are you sure…she's not trying…to load…my data?"

* * *

"So…let me get this straight. The kid's TV show Digimon is actually real, bad Digimon keep attacking England, for some reason they keep appearing in the park and you, Henry and your partners are the only ones standing between them and us?" Steph said slowly, trying to digest everything she had been told.

"Uh…yeah, pretty much…" Takato lied. He had decided against telling them about Rika and Renamon - partly out of respect for their privacy, but also because he didn't doubt that Rika would inflict unimaginable pain on him if he told anyone.

"Damn…"

"So, you and Henry are…Tamers?" Cam asked, making sure he had the right word. When Takato nodded, she continued. "And you created Guilmon from some doodles and some stats you'd written down? How did you know what stats to write?"

The Tamer looked a little uncomfortable at this question. "Uh, well…when I was younger I used to have that whole obsession with Digimon, remember? Well, I started collecting some of the cards for the Digimon I liked when I was seven and I got a pretty good idea of what was good for each level of evolution. I did my drawings and stuff back then as part of a 'Design Your Own Digimon' competition, and I kept a copy of everything in a drawer in my room. I'd forgotten all about it until my D-Arc appeared and it somehow started homing in on the notes. When I got them out of the drawer, it scanned them and Guilmon appeared in the middle of the park."

"Whoa…"

"Okay I got another one," Steph said, looking thoughtfully at Takato. "Why are they appearing in Kirkfield? I mean, it's not exactly a tourist spot, and there's nothing that important nearby."

"I have no idea. I think Henry has been working on a theory, though - you'll have to ask him. Something to do with inter-di-thingy barriers and the internet."

"Okay…Oh, I know! Is England the only country with Tamers and Digimon and stuff?"

"That one I can answer! I know that there are a few more Tamers in Japan, but I don't know about any other countries."

"How do you know there are Tamers in Japan?" Cam asked, a mischievous grin on his face. "Did your sweetheart Rika tell you?"

"WHAT? No! I mean, she's not my…I mean she didn't…I…"

"Actually, that's a pretty good idea," Steph said, sighing as she saw Cam grinning at her now. "Not the sweetheart thing! I mean about Rika telling him - she did just move here from Japan. So, Takato - did Rika tell you about the other Tamers?"

"N-no!" the Tamer stammered, inwardly cursing his inability to lie.

"You really need to learn how to lie, mate…" Cam laughed and shook his head. "So, that means that our resident psychopath is probably a Tamer too!"

"What? N-no! Rika's not…oh what's the point, she's gonna kill me when she gets here anyway! Yeah, Rika's a Tamer…"

"I KNEW IT!" Cam roared triumphantly and pointed at Takato. "Secret meetings in the middle of the woods, blowing off your friends to meet each other - you two ARE in love!"

"No we're not! She's been teaching me how to use these things called 'modify cards' on Guilmon to make him fight better."

"She threatened to kill you if you told anyone that didn't she?" Steph asked, a massive grin on her face.

"Yeah, how did you guess?" Takato said sarcastically.

"Because she's stood behind you. And boy does she look mad…"

* * *

"YOU TOLD THEM I'M A TAMER?" Rika roared in Takato's face as she throttled him two-handed.

"It…wasn't…my…fault…" the boy croaked as he fought a losing battle for air. "Tricked…me…Very…easy…to do…"

"Wow, she really is mad…" Steph muttered as she watched her friend's face turn purple.

"Yeah…Hey, Guilmon, shouldn't you be…I dunno…helping Takato right about now?" Cam asked and frowned as Guilmon shook his head. "Why not?"

"Rika scares me…" the red dinosaur mumbled.

"So…The dinosaur with the big teeth and claws who can breathe exploding balls of fire is scared of the redhead with a temper?"

"Uh-huh!"

"GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID GOGGLEHEAD!"

Cam, Steph and Guilmon turned and saw that Takato had finally broken free from Rika's death grip and was running for his life. The boy tripped over a large root as he ran, landing flat on his face and provoking a loud burst of laughter from the two non-Tamers. A glare from Rika shut them up, and the girl began stomping towards them.

"If either of you tells ANYONE about my being a Tamer…or my training Gogglehead and Brainiac…"

"You'll kill us both in horribly painful and imaginative ways?" Cam finished, wincing as a smile that could only be described as _Pure Evil_ appeared on the redhead's face.

"No, _I_ won't kill you…"

"I will!"

"WAH!" the two schoolchildren and Guilmon yelled as one and spun around to see a very angry looking humanoid fox, her hands and feet wreathed with blue fire.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Cam gasped, staring at the flaming kitsune.

"Nowhere," she answered simply before winking out of existence, reappearing next to Rika a split second later.

"Cool…" Cam and Steph mumbled.

"Okay, I'm outta here. You owe me another week's supply for this, Gogglehead!" Rika shouted as her partner picked her up and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

_"Did you see the look on their faces? That was priceless!" _Rika chuckled telepathically as Renamon placed her down gently in her room.

_"It was…amusing…" _the kitsune admitted with a smile. _"I did not know that it was possible for a male human to scream like that…"_

_"It's not meant to be possible. Well, unless you kick them in the…Anyway, do you think they'll keep their mouths shut?"_

_"If they are stupid enough to talk after that little display, we would be doing the human gene pool a favour by removing them. They will keep quiet."_

_"Good. I still can't believe that Gogglehead! How stupid do you have to be to get followed by __**Cam**__ of all people?" _the redhead sighed and slumped onto her futon. _"At least I got a little amusement out of the whole thing…"

* * *

_

Wednesday 22nd September - 9:30am

Redcliff Mount High School, Room M1- Music Block

First period on Wednesday was Music, and Rika was stuck with Gogglehead, Brainiac and their two dimwit friends once again. They were currently being forced to answer some insultingly easy questions on a text about the origin of rap music.

_This is ridiculous…I thought Music lessons would be about __**music**__, not a history of some pathetically overrated gang culture. _The girl sighed as she felt boredom rapidly encroaching upon her mind. She had finished the questions, which were meant to last them until the end of the lesson, within ten minutes. _How old does she think we are? This reads like it was written for a two-year-old…_

"Is all the work at this damn school this easy?" she whispered to Steph, who was busy doodling a picture of Guilmon dancing in a field full of flowers.

"Pretty much, yeah…I guess it kinda depends on which teachers you get, but it's mostly like this. Kinda like it is with homework."

"Wait, you mean they're not just going easy on us because it's the start of the year?"

"Nope!" Takato butted in cheerfully. "We got lucky with the teachers we got - most of them don't bother setting homework very often, and when they do it's never much."

"Not bad…" Rika muttered and smirked, stealthily taking out her iPhone and skipping the song that had just started playing. At her stuffy old private school, she'd been laden down with so much homework there often hadn't been enough time to finish it all. The relaxed homework schedule at Redcliff was a welcome change to her old life.

"You'll wanna be careful Miss Gorak doesn't see that…" Takato muttered, noticing the small, white earphone in the redhead's right ear.

That was one of the only downsides of her new school (other than the incessant violence) - the banning of all MP3 players and mobile phones from school property. The ban on phones was easy to get around - you just kept it turned off and only took it out of your pocket when nobody was looking. The ban on iPods was what bothered Rika the most. At her old school, she'd spent most of her break and lunchtimes listening to music while she read. When she'd tried that one day at Redcliff, a teacher had immediately confiscated her iPhone and given her an incredibly patronising and nonsensical lecture about following rules. As a result, the redhead had been forced to replace her usual silver headset with a much smaller, more easily-concealed pair of white earphones. An unexpected bonus of this switch was that Rika was now able to listen to music in some lessons as well, as long as she was careful about it.

"You're kidding right? I'm pretty sure she's asleep," Steph giggled.

"What makes you say that?" the brown-haired Tamer asked, looking at the obese teacher. It was actually impossible to tell if she was asleep or not, since she had her back to the class.

"Well, Joe Carr has been throwing little paper balls at her head for five minutes, and she hasn't even stopped him. She just does this weird coughing thing every so often."

"It's called snoring, Goldilocks!" Rika snapped, amazed that her classmate could be so stupid.

"Dude…that's some messed up snoring!" Cam chuckled before joining Joe Carr in throwing paper at the teacher. "And how come you've given everyone a nickname except me?"

"Because the ones I came up with for you weren't suitable for public use," the redhead smirked, enjoying the irritated look that passed across the boy's face.

"Well fine then! I'll just think up a nickname for you then. Hmmm…let's see…how about…"

"Cam, I recommend you choose your next words very carefully…" Steph warned, noticing Rika cracking her knuckles.

"Ummm…does 'The Digimon Queen' meet with your approval?" Cam asked, wincing as the redhead turned to glare at Takato.

"What? I swear I didn't tell him about that!" the brown-haired Tamer said, panicking.

"Actually, it was Terriermon who told us about that," Steph mumbled. "We went to meet him after you left. Practically had to fight Henry's little sister to get hold of him - she thinks he's a doll!"

"Yeah," Cam chuckled, struggling to speak through his laughter. "She even…she dressed him up in a…a pink tutu and called him…she called him Pwincess Pwetty Pants!"

The black-haired boy fell off his chair, howling with laughter and waking up Miss Gorak. The fat teacher sat up suddenly, nearly flying off of her chair and glared around the room until she spotted Cam rolling on the floor.

"What on EARTH do you think you are doing, Cameron?" she shrieked, nearly giving the boy a heart attack. The woman suddenly noticed the collection of paper balls spread around the bottom of her chair and decided to blame it on the most obvious culprit. "How long have you been throwing things at me, hmm? You've earned yourself a detention! Now, go to M2 - I won't have you disrupting my class anymore!"

Cam quickly gave up trying to protest his innocence - he was still laughing too much to string together a coherent sentence. He staggered out of the room, clutching his ribs and struggling for breath, completely destroying Miss Gorak's illusion of authority.

"And if anyone else thinks this is funny, they can join him in detention!" she growled and glared at Steph and Takato, who were trying desperately not to laugh. The duo were saved by the bell, which rang just as Takato began to crack up. "Alright, end of lesson! Everybody out!"

As soon as they had left the classroom, Takato, Steph and Henry burst out laughing.

"I can't believe…you let Suzie…dress Terriermon…in a tutu!" Takato howled, tears of mirth running down his cheeks.

"Princess Pretty Pants, huh?" Rika said and chuckled darkly. "This should make for good ammunition…"

* * *

Takato was surprised to find Rika in the library at lunch that day. When he asked her about why she was there, and where her usual hangout was, she replied that she usually snuck off school grounds using Renamon's _Kohenkyo_ and hung around in the park, then told the boy that it was none of his business and he should stop stalking her. _Wow, I can't believe my 'Rika sneaking off school property at lunch' theory was correct…_ Takato thought to himself as he rapidly retreated to the company of his friends.

* * *

3:40pm - Outside Redcliff Mount High School

Takato and Steph were stood outside the school's main entrance, waiting for Cam to finish his detention. This wasn't the detention he had earned in Music - keeping a child after school in England for any significant length of time required at least twenty-four hours written notice to the parents. This was a detention he had earned on Monday for getting into an argument with his RE teacher.

_It's easy to forget how pissed off Cam gets about stuff like that._ Takato thought idly. _In fact, other than Rika's teasing, I think that's the only thing I've ever seen really get under his skin…though I have to admit, it was pretty funny when he accused Mr Zaffino of being a Nazi Propaganda Artist. I wonder if Cam even knows what half that stuff means…?_

The goggle-wearing Tamer was brought back to reality by a loud beeping emanating from the D-Arc attached to his belt.

"What the…?" he muttered as he activated the device's holographic display, cursing as he read the text displayed there. "Ah, crap! Steph, I gotta go - there's a Digimon Bio-emerging in the park, and if I'm reading this right it's pretty damn powerful."

The blonde girl nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll tell Cam where you are. Break a leg!"

"Thanks…I think."

* * *

According to the compass on Takato's D-Arc, the Digimon was Bio-emerging at the south-west end of the park, not far from Guilmon's den. The boy collected his partner en route, and was at the emergence site within five minutes of his D-Arc first going off.

"This is…different…" the boy mumbled as he stared at the Digital Field. It was unlike any he had seen before - the cloud of fog was much thinner than normal, with trees and a vaguely dog-like silhouette visible from outside the field. "Maybe we should wait for the others, boy - I don't like the look of this…"

"No! This Digimon has nearly broken through all the way into this world! We have to stop him now, Takatomon, or he could get away!" Guilmon growled, his pupils reduced to mere slits.

"Ah, damn it…well, if you're sure…"

The boy and his partner began walking slowly forwards, entering the Digital Field cautiously. The dog-like silhouette quickly resolved itself into a massive blue-furred wolf covered in jagged red symbols. The Digimon was wearing a matching purple helmet and collar that reminded Takato oddly of a bat's wings. By far the most terrifying parts of the wolf, however, were the enormous metal claws and axe-like blades protruding from its paws.

_What have I gotten us into now?_ the Tamer thought, a wave of fear flooding his mind as he raised his D-Arc to scan his opponent.

_Name: Sangloupmon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Black Mind_

_Sticker Blade_

As his stats appeared on the screen, Sangloupmon sniffed the air, turned and glared at the boy. _Okay, cool head, don't panic, don't wet my pants with fear, don't scream like a little girl…_

"Fresh blood…" he growled and began to pace slowly towards the Tamer.

"Leave Takatomon alone! **Pyro Sphere!**"

A red fireball rocketed through the air and slammed into Sangloupmon's purple helmet. The attack did little except scorch the metal slightly and anger the helmet's owner. With a howl, the vampire-wolf leapt at Guilmon, his jaws open wide ready to tear the smaller Digimon's head off. With a yelp, the dinosaur leapt to the side, Sangloupmon's jaws snapping shut on air. The wolf growled and pounced at Guilmon again, this time trying to attack with his massive paw-blades. The saurian barely dodged this attack and ended up lying flat on his back, easy prey for the lupine Digimon's next attack.

_I gotta help him somehow…_ "**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

Guilmon rolled to the side and leapt to his feet, easily dodging Sangloupmon's next few attacks and working his way behind the larger Digimon. He launched another Pyro Sphere, only to have it deflected by a sweep of the wolf's massive claws. Takato reached for another card and slashed it through his D-Arc.

"**Digi-Modify! Power activate!**"

Guilmon ducked another slash at his head by his opponent as an intense red light began emanating from his mouth.

"**Pyro Sphere!**"

"**Black Mind!**"

As the overpowered ball of fire rocketed towards him, Sangloupmon seemed to sink into the ground, disappearing from sight. The fireball slammed harmlessly into the ground where the lupine Digimon had been standing, creating a metre-wide crater in the soft earth. _Where the hell…?_ Takato thought, scanning the area for the Digimon with his D-Arc, a horrible sinking feeling flowing through him as he noticed the absence of any digital fog. _Oh crap…the Digital Field has completely dissipated! This guy could be anywhere by now._ Suddenly, the boy felt a shadowy presence behind him and he dove to the left, acting purely on instinct. A blue and purple blur shot past the Tamer, and he felt a sudden, burning cold in his right calf. _He…he cut me…_

"Gah!" the boy yelped in agony as he looked down at his leg and realised what had happened. The cut wasn't deep, but there was quite a bit of blood and it hurt like hell. Fighting back tears of pain, Takato looked up to see the vampire-wolf licking a thin line of blood from his paw-blade.

"NOBODY HURTS TAKATOMON!" Guilmon roared and leapt at the wolf, claws outstretched. "**Rock Breaker!**"

"Pathetic…" Sangloupmon snarled contemptuously as he batted the attack aside with a flick of his massive paw, sending the red dinosaur crashing to the ground. The wolf pounced on the prone saurian and pinned him down, opening his massive jaws to finish the childlike Digimon off.

"Guilmon, no!" Takato called, helpless to save his partner once again. The boy felt his spirits soar as a familiar voice called out from behind him. _Rika!_

"**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Renamon, Digivolve to…**"

Takato turned to see a glowing blue Data Sphere explode, revealing a nine-tailed golden-furred fox.

"**…Kyubimon!**"

"Alright, Kyubimon - let's show this guy who's top dog…**Digi-Modify! Target Lock activate!**"

"**Fox Tail Inferno!**" the vulpine Digimon called, blue fireballs bearing a disturbing resemblance to Halloween pumpkins gathering around the tips of her nine tails. With a flick, Kyubimon launched all nine fireballs at Sangloupmon, striking him in his open mouth, throat, eye and underbelly. The vampire-wolf roared as he was sent flying through the air, away from his saurian prey. With a growl, Sangloupmon pushed himself to his feet and activated his special attack again.

"**Black Mind!**" he snarled and began to sink into his own shadow once again.

"Oh, no you don't! **Digi-Modify! Lucemon's Radiance activate!**"

"NO!"

Kyubimon began to glow with an intense golden light that soon spread across the entire area, bending impossibly around obstacles to illuminate every surface. Sangloupmon let out a roar of pain and disbelief as the light washed over him, dispelling his shadow while he was still sinking into it and severing all four of his limbs just above the knee. Static flickered across the vampire-wolf's body as his data began to lose cohesion.

"No…not like this…slain…by a mere…child…" he growled as his data finally broke apart, quickly being absorbed by the wounded Guilmon.

With a flash of white light, Kyubimon de-digivolved to Renamon and teleported to the saurian's side, helping him to his feet. Rika turned and saw Takato lying on the ground and walked over to him, a smirk on her face.

"Sorry we took so long, Goggles. I was all the way over on the other side of town when my D-Arc went off and…uh, Gogglehead? You still with me?"

A tear finally managed to squeeze itself out of the corner of Takato's eye as the adrenaline rush of combat wore off and the pain of his injury hit him in full force.

"My…leg…" he hissed through gritted teeth as Rika crouched down beside him. The redhead winced as she saw the blood staining her fellow Tamer's khaki cargo pants and quickly rolled them up to get a better look at the wound.

"Takatomon! Are you okay?" Guilmon whined, nuzzling his Tamer's arm gently and looking worried when he didn't answer.

"Ah, crap…He's gonna be fine, Guilmon. Okay, Gogglehead, listen carefully. The cut's not too deep so you shouldn't need stitches, but we _are_ gonna have to clean and bandage it. Do you have a First Aid kit at the bake-no, scratch that. It's too far to go without being seen. Damn…looks like we're headed to my place," Rika sighed dejectedly. "Can you walk?"

"I think…Yeah I can…" the boy said, getting shakily to his feet.

"Let's go, my house is just through this patch of trees," she said, pointing towards a fenced-off area of woodland with "PRIVATE PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING" signs nailed to the fence at regular intervals.

"Ah…I don't think we should…what if we get caught?"

"It's my mum's land, Goggles," the girl muttered, sounding almost embarrassed about it. "They're not gonna arrest you if you're with me."

"Oh…" _Whoa, her mum owns all that land? Her family's gotta be pretty rich…

* * *

_

"Whoa…" Takato breathed as he caught his first glimpse of the traditional Japanese mini-mansion that was Rika's house.

His breath was completely taken away by the beauty of the property. They had left the forest at the rear of the grounds, meaning that the two Tamers got a beautiful view of the Zen garden and Koi pond that dominated the area. The boy glanced at the redhead next to him, noticing that she looked oddly uncomfortable.

"My grandma's out with friends until this evening and our housekeeper has already gone home. We should be able to get your leg sorted out before anyone gets back." Rika muttered, and Takato nodded, still trying to get his head around the property's incredible size and beauty. "Renamon, you and Guilmon stay hidden - I don't want to risk you guys getting seen by someone."

The kitsune nodded and led a reluctant Guilmon away into the trees. When the two Digimon were safely out of sight, Rika started walking towards one of the house's three back doors, Takato limping along behind her.

"Whoa…" the goggle-wearing Tamer breathed again as he walked through the door. The back door led into the kitchen, which was about the same size as the whole "Bakery" section of Takato's house and was furnished with shiny, high tech appliances. The main entrance was even more impressive, dominated by a massive wooden staircase easily wide enough to drive an American SUV down. Japanese artwork lined the walls, and a large circular rug woven into a mandala-style pattern covered the hard wooden floor.

"Try not to get blood on anything - I don't want to have to try and explain that to my grandma," Rika sighed. She actually had an explanation for such a situation lined up, but it was one she'd rather not have to use - mostly because of the _extremely _awkward and embarrassing conversation it would lead to.

"Uh-huh…" Takato mumbled, completely awestruck by his richly-furnished surroundings. The boy let himself be led up the stairs and into a bathroom that was the size of his house's living room.

"Wait here, I'm gonna go get the First Aid kit from my room," Rika ordered as she left the dazed boy marvelling at the shiny toilet, returning thirty seconds later with a green plastic box. "Sit down and roll your trouser leg up."

Takato did as he was ordered, sitting on the ridiculously shiny toilet and rolling his cargo pants up past his knee. Rika winced as she got her first good look at the cut - it extended from about an inch below the Tamer's knee to an inch above his ankle. The redhead took a white cloth and dabbed on some clear liquid from a clear glass bottle.

"Grit your teeth, Gogglehead, 'cause this is gonna hurt…"

"YOW!" the boy shrieked as Rika began cleaning the wound with the cloth. "What the hell is that stuff, acid?"

"It's rubbing alcohol. And suck it up, you're gonna take worse knocks than this in your Taming career."

"ACK! Your bedside manner needs some - YOW! - some work, you know that?"

The redhead fixed him with a glare before continuing. "It's kinda hard to feel sympathy for a scratch when you've been run over by a feral Monochromon!"

"Whoa…how did you not…I mean how are you…"

"Not dead? My grandma found me and called an ambulance. I was in hospital for a week, and couldn't fight for two, but I survived."

"Damn…OW!"

"And what the hell were you thinking? Sangloupmon is one of the most dangerous Champions out there, and you just rushed straight at him!"

"The Digital Field was collapsing - he'd almost completely emerged into the real world when we arrived. I had to try and - YOW! - try and keep him busy until you or Henry arrived. What other choice did I have?"

"Ah, crap…You did the right thing Goggles, just be a little more careful next time - I don't want this to be a regular thing!" Rika snapped as she finished washing the cut.

"Yes, ma'am…"

"Alright, now for the bandages…" the redhead mumbled as she rummaged through the green box.

"Hehe, First Aid is a pretty useful skill for a Tamer to know," Takato grinned as Rika began to wrap his leg with bandages. "Where did you learn it?"

"Kenta, one of the Tamers back in Japan taught me," the girl said as she cut the end of the bandage off with a small pair of scissors and knotted it expertly.

"I remember him - the quiet one partnered to MarineAngemon, right?"

"Yeah. All done. Change the bandage after you shower or bathe, and try not to let your parents see it. The cut shouldn't get infected since I used the alcohol rub, but if it does you should go see a real doctor."

"Really? That wasn't as bad as I expected."

Rika snorted and rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't have known it from the fuss you were making…"

"Hehe, yeah…Thanks by the way. I know you didn't have to do all this…"

"Are you _kidding_ me? If I didn't sort out that scratch you'd have had to see a doctor, and the way you lie, you'd have been blabbing about what happened in no time! Stupid Gogglehead…"

Takato grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, good point…I'd better go find Guilmon and take him back to his hideout. Do you know where Renamon will have hidden him?"

Rika looked distant for a few seconds before she answered. "She took him back there herself. She's been waiting there with him to stop him from running back over here to check on you."

"Uh, how do you know?" Takato asked, his confusion clear on his face.

"Because I just asked her," Rika replied, continuing with a sigh when Takato's confusion only deepened. "Digimon of the Renamon evolutionary line can form mental bonds with those closest to them. Renamon and I have one of those bonds. It lets us communicate telepathically, feel what the other feels, stuff like that."

"Whoa, that's kind of cool…"

"Yeah, it is. Oh, one last thing - you said you created Guilmon yourself, right?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Did you create any later forms for him?"

The boy shook his head and chuckled. "I tried when I first created him, but I couldn't get the pictures right. How _do_ you get a Digimon to digivolve, anyway?"

"The first time it happens is usually when their Tamer is in grave danger, or has a really strong urge to protect somebody. What happened to you earlier would normally have sparked a digivolution in Dino-boy. After the first time, you unlock something called your 'Guardian Spirit' and can use a Digivolution modify card to digivolve them at will."

"Oh, okay. When did Renamon first digivolve to Kyubimon?"

"It was back in Shinjuku. Jeri and Leomon were getting their butts whooped by a Devimon-"

"Wait a second…Did this happen on top of a weird skyscraper with two towers?" Takato interrupted, wincing as he saw the suspicious glare Rika threw at him.

"How the hell did you know that?" she growled, clenching her fists menacingly.

"Uh…promise you won't freak out?" the brown-haired Tamer asked hesitantly, continuing when Rika failed to answer him. "I kind of…had a dream about you…"

"What? What kind of weirdo are you?" the girl yelled and took a step forward.

"Not _that _kind of dream!" Takato exclaimed quickly, breathing a mental sigh of relief as the angry look in the redhead's eyes disappeared. "I dreamt that a girl in a green dress and a Leomon fought against a Devimon, and Devimon was about to kill Leomon when you showed up. Your D-Arc started glowing and Renamon digivolved to Kyubimon. You used a couple of modify cards - a Power card and a…Light Trainer card or something."

"You mean Light Training Manual?"

"Yeah! Anyway, Kyubimon used Dragon Wheel and tore Devimon to shreds with one attack. The weirdest part is, I had the dream weeks before I met you. Come to think about it, it was before I even found out Digimon were real…"

"That's…still pretty weird!" Rika snapped and glared at her fellow Tamer.

"Yeah, you'll get no arguments from me…" Takato mumbled, then grinned cheerfully and laughed to himself. "Wow, I've gotta be the only guy in the world who has actually met his 'dream girl'."

Rika's only response was an angry growl.

Takato looked at his watch, eyes widening when he saw the time. "Ah, crap! I was meant to be home ten minutes ago! My mum's gonna kill me…"

Rika cut the boy off at the bottom of the stairs as he dashed for the front door. "If you _EVER_ mention that dream to _anyone_, or even _think_ about making another 'dream girl' joke, I'll send you to Dreamland for good, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the goggle-wearing Tamer gulped.

"Good. Now get out of my house before my grandma gets home!"

* * *

When Takato eventually limped in through the bakery door, he was over half an hour late.

"Where have you been, young man? Your father and I have been worried sick!" his mother yelled furiously.

"Sorry! I was in the park with Cam and Steph and my watch stopped working!" the boy replied, using the excuse he had thought up on the way over.

"I don't want to hear your excuses and…why are you limping? And is that BLOOD on your pants?" the woman shrieked in horror.

_Damn, hoped she wouldn't notice… _"Oh, the blood isn't mine, it's Cam's. He cut his hand on some broken glass and thought it'd be funny to get it all over my pants. I'm limping because I tripped over a tree root and landed weird trying to get away from him."

"Humph! Well…don't let it happen again, you hear me?" the woman growled, apparently satisfied by her son's tale. "Now I'm going to have to throw those pants away…You tell Cam the next time he pulls something like that, he can buy you a new pair himself!"

"Yes, mum."

_And Rika says I can't lie! Chalk one up for the Gogglehead!_


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Discipline**

Thursday 23rd September - 11:35am

Outside Guilmon's Den, Kirkfield Park

"So, what do you think?" Takato asked eagerly as Henry picked up the notepad labelled 'Growlmon'.

"Wow, Takato…these are pretty good!" the blue-haired boy exclaimed as he looked over the hand-drawn pictures of Guilmon's Champion form.

Considering they had been drawn by a twelve-year-old, the pictures were excellent. The first two sheets showed multiple angles of a black-striped red dinosaur with a white mane about the same size as the crudely-drawn house included for reference. The third sheet was a list of the Digimon's statistics and attacks with a brief description of each ability.

"Heh, thanks," the goggle-wearing Tamer grinned, taking back the notepad.

"So, when are you gonna scan the pictures?"

"I was thinking of doing it now, actually. I just wanted to get somebody to look over the stats to check if I'd missed anything."

"Well, I didn't notice anything missing, but you might want to get Rika to take a look at it. She knows the card game better than either of us."

Takato shrugged and looked a little sheepish. "I didn't want to bother her with this. Besides, her advice would be a little biased - you know how she prefers agility over toughness."

"Yeah, you have a point," Henry chuckled. "By the time she was done with Growlmon, she'd have him leaping around like a chipmunk on caffeine."

The brown-haired boy laughed at the mental image conjured by his friend's joke. "I'd pay good money to see that! Ah, what the hell! I'll scan the drawings now, what harm can it do? Hey, Guilmon!"

The childlike Digimon poked his head out of some nearby bushes and shushed his Tamer. "Shh, Takatomon. I'm playing Hide and Seek with Terriermon, and I'm it!"

"Then why are _you_ hiding?" Henry asked with a confused frown.

"Silly Henry! Why do you think it's called Hide _and_ Seek?" the red dinosaur giggled playfully.

"Anyway…can you come over here for a minute, boy? I want to try scanning in your Champion form."

"Yay!" Guilmon yelped and ran to his Tamer's side.

"Okay, let's do this…" Takato mumbled, jamming his notebook into the card reader slot on his D-Arc.

The red and white device beeped softly, then began to somehow pull the pages through the card slot one at a time. When the last page had been scanned, the device beeped again and the words "**DIGIVOLUTION TREE UPDATED**" flashed up on the screen.

"Oooh…Takatomon, I feel funny…" Guilmon groaned as he glowed white for a few seconds before returning to normal.

"I think it worked!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed happily and hugged his partner.

"We could do with testing it. Hmmm…I wonder how we could get him to digivolve…" Henry mumbled, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Rika told me the first time a Digimon digivolves, it needs to be triggered by either wanting to protect someone really badly or by their Tamer's life being put in danger," Takato said and grinned. "Not really something we can test except in a fight…"

A pair of high-pitched alarms suddenly rang out and Guilmon let out a low growl, cutting off the blue-haired Tamer's reply. Both boys looked at their D-Arcs to see a Bio-emergence alert.

"Now _that _is good timing!" the goggle-wearing Tamer chuckled as he set off into the surrounding forest at a run, following his D-Arc's holographic compass.

* * *

The two Tamers and their partners followed their D-Arcs to a grassy field at the edge of the forest. At the centre of the field was a Digital Field about thirty metres across. Guilmon growled quietly, sniffing the air hungrily.

"What do you smell, boy?" Takato asked, pulling his goggles over his eyes.

"It's a Champion, Takatomon!" the red dinosaur replied.

"Hey, maybe we'll get a chance to try out Growlmon!" the boy said hopefully as the group of humans and Digimon walked carefully into the fog.

"Uh, is it just me that can hear that buzzing?" Terriermon asked and looked around nervously.

"No, I can he-DUCK!" Henry yelled and leapt to the ground, Takato doing the same beside him.

Guilmon was a little slower to react, and something large and yellow slammed into him at high speed. The saurian Digimon was sent flying through the air by the high-speed impact, landing with a pained yelp at the far side of the Digital Field. The yellow shape wheeled around and hovered over the prone dinosaur, revealing itself to be a horrendously oversized wasp with purple wings and a pair of long red stingers. Takato scanned the wasp Digimon with his D-Arc as a brown cloud gathered around its wings.

_Name: Flymon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Brown Stingers_

_Poison Powder_

_Flying Arm/Fly Attack_

"**Poison Powder!**" Flymon shouted as the cloud of brown spores began to rain down on the red dinosaur.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted in horror as his partner yelped in pain and ceased his efforts to stand up. "Gotta find a health card…"

The goggle-wearing Tamer cheered triumphantly as he found the card he was looking for, only to yelp in fear a second later as Flymon flew straight at him. The boy leapt aside desperately, dropping his D-Arc and cards as he landed.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size! **Bunny Blast!**" Terriermon shouted, firing a small ball of green energy at the insect Digimon, hitting it on one of his left wings.

"Gah! You'll pay for that, little rabbit. **Brown Stingers!**"

"I didn't mean me, you know!" the dog-rabbit Digimon protested as he dodged the flurry of poisonous barbs.

"In that case, your Tamer will do nicely! **Brown Stingers!**"

Henry yelped and leapt to the side, landing flat on his backside. Flymon flew towards the blue-haired Tamer, gathering another cloud of brown spores around his wings.

"Henry!" Terriermon shouted in fear as a bright white light began shining from his Tamer's D-Arc.

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Terriermon, Digivolve to…**"

The little Digimon was encased in a glowing green digi-egg, which soon shattered to reveal a seven-foot tall green-and-white rabbit wearing a pair of blue jeans. The rabbit's arms ended in a pair of multi-barrelled cannons, and he had a bandolier of ammunition slung across his otherwise-bare chest.

"**…Gargomon!**"

"**Poison P-**"

"**Gargo Lasers!**" Gargomon interrupted, levelling his cannon-arms at the massive wasp.

Flymon screamed in agony as a volley of green energy bolts struck him between his wings, sending him crashing to the ground. Gargomon didn't let up, keeping his arms pointed at his foe and unleashing an endless torrent of fire. Flymon thrashed on the ground as the barrage reduced his body to something resembling Swiss cheese before he disintegrated into free-floating data. Henry breathed a sigh of relief as the Digital Field dissipated, then frowned in confusion when he realised that his partner was still firing.

"Uh, Gargomon? I think you got him…"

The rabbit's only reply was a psychotic giggle as he span round on the spot, firing at anything and everything in sight. After reducing a decent-sized tree to splinters, Gargomon tracked his arms around, walking the streams of fire towards a small rock formation.

"TAKATO!" Henry yelled as he realised what the two hunched shapes next to the rock formation were.

* * *

Takato looked up from tending to Guilmon as he heard Henry's desperate cry and froze as he saw Gargomon swinging his arm-cannons around to point in his direction. The brown-haired Tamer froze with fear as the dust cloud kicked up by the energy bolts impacting the ground moved quickly towards him.

_OhmygodI'-_"OOF!" he grunted as his panicked train of thought was interrupted by something slamming into his side, knocking him out of the way of Gargomon's lasers.

"Renamon, take him down!" Rika's voice called out as Takato hit the ground face first, something heavy landing on top of him.

The boy rolled over to see that the 'something heavy' was Rika. There was a smouldering hole in her jeans and the girl was clutching her left thigh.

"Rika? Are you okay?" Takato asked, panicking at the girl's obvious pain.

"I'm fine Gogglehead, he barely scratched me," she replied through gritted teeth as she stood up shakily, still holding her leg.

"**Power Paw!**" Renamon's voice called out, and Takato turned to see the kitsune phase into existence, drop Guilmon and take a flying leap at Gargomon's back, her paws wreathed with blue fire.

Gargomon grunted in pain as the attack struck him in the kidneys, sending him crashing to the ground. The rabbit's arm-cannons continued firing, however, forcing the vulpine Digimon to quickly leap aside. Takato heard a low growl, and turned to see Guilmon back on his feet and running at the trigger-happy Digimon. The red dinosaur grabbed Gargomon's right arm, bending it at the elbow and pointing the cannon at the ground. Renamon quickly did the same to the rabbit's left arm, preventing him from harming anyone with his awesome firepower.

"Do something!" the kitsune gasped as she struggled to restrain the larger Digimon. "I cannot…hold him…for long…"

"**Digi-Modify! Rock Armour activate!**" Henry's voice called out, and Renamon and Guilmon quickly leapt aside as Gargomon was encased in stone.

"Q-quick thinking Henry," Takato stammered as he climbed to his feet.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry guys, I don't know what…oh, God - Rika! Are you okay?" the blue-haired boy gasped, running to the redhead's side as he saw her clutching her thigh in agony.

"Brainiac, you have ten seconds to explain _exactly_ why your partner just shot me," she growled, glaring at the boy with rage-filled eyes.

"I…I don't know!" Henry yelped and stepped back. "I was about to get shredded by a Flymon, then Terriermon digivolved and took it out! After that, he just went crazy and started shooting things!"

"So I'm supposed to believe that Rabbitmon just tried to kill Gogglehead for no reason?"

"Rika, he's telling the truth," Takato chipped in, ignoring the glare he received from the girl. "He just flipped out and started blowing stuff up and laughing like a madman!"

"Rika, maybe we should get that looked at…" Henry said, reaching out to move the redhead's hands from the burn on her thigh.

"Don't touch me!" she growled and slammed her fist into the blue-haired boy's stomach, winding him. "You call yourself a Tamer? You can't even stop your own _partner_ from going on a rampage! Try talking to me when you've got that damn rabbit under control."

With that, the girl limped slowly away in the direction of her house. Renamon stood there for a few more seconds and shot an icy glare at Henry before disappearing into thin air. A burst of light and a loud cracking sound caught the boy's attention, and he turned to see a dazed Terriermon sat in the middle of Gargomon's shattered Rock Armour.

"Oh, my aching head…" the rabbit grumbled as he looked around in confusion. "Ummm, Henry? What just happened?"

"You Digivolved to Gargomon, deleted Flymon, went crazy, nearly killed Takato and shot Rika in the leg."

Terriermon winced and looked sheepish. "Wow, now I know what a hangover feels like…"

* * *

Wong Residence, Kirkfield - 9:30pm

Henry sighed as he slumped face-first onto his bed, drawing a concerned look from his partner. The green-and-white Digimon leapt onto the bed beside his Tamer, covered up his worry with a grin and issued his catchphrase cheerfully.

"Momentai, Henry! A burden shared…"

"Terriermon…" the boy sighed again and sat up. "What happened today…it got me thinking. Why do we bother?"

"Why do we bother what?" the dog-bunny asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why do we bother fighting?" Henry mumbled and buried his face in his hands. "I never really wanted to fight in the first place - I only did it because I knew Takato couldn't cope on his own. Now that Rika's here, too, and Takato's learning to stand on his own two feet, is there any point in us carrying on? Do they really need me at all?"

Terriermon winced, knowing what had brought on his Tamer's moment of self-doubt. "Henry…what happened today was…yeah, it was pretty bad, but I think it was a one-off thing. You can't let it screw up your head like this."

"How could it _not _screw up my head? Two people nearly died today because of us!"

"Whaddya mean 'us'? If anything it was _my_ fault - you had nothing to do with it! Lots of Digimon have a little trouble when they first Digivolve to a new form. I just had a little more than most…"

"Terriermon…you might be right, but that's a risk we can't afford to take. What happens if next time there's nobody there to stop you, or even worse, if somebody tries to stop you and gets hurt? I couldn't live with myself if that happened!"

"Henr-"

"No 'buts', Terriermon!" Henry snapped, struggling to stop himself from shouting. "We're not going to be doing any more fighting! Rika and Takato are perfectly capable of handling things on their own."

Terriermon growled angrily but otherwise kept quiet. It was unusual for Henry to lose his temper, and when he did there was no point arguing with him. They would just have to continue this in the morning.

* * *

When Terriermon tried to resume his debate with Henry the next morning, he was angry to find that a good night's sleep had done little to change the boy's mood. The blue-haired Tamer was still adamant about giving up fighting, and refused to listen to any of his partner's arguments to the contrary. The debate quickly deteriorated into a full-blown argument, and ended with Henry storming out of the house, leaving Terriermon to the tender mercies of his seven-year-old sister Suzie.

The blue-haired boy knew that he would have to tell his two fellow Tamers about his decision sooner or later, and decided to make it sooner. He asked both Takato and Rika to meet him in the library at lunchtime so that he could 'talk to them about something really important'.

* * *

Friday, 24th September - 12:25pm

Redcliff Mount High School, Library

"I knew it," Rika spat as soon as Henry had finished handing in his metaphorical letter of resignation. "I knew you didn't have what it took to be a Tamer. You hit one little hiccup and you're giving up? You're pathetic."

"Rika, that's not fair…" Takato mumbled, but trailed off as the girl stomped angrily out of the library.

The two boys stood there in silence for a little while, until Takato finally spoke up. "Look, as much as I disagree with Rika, she does have a bit of a point, Henry. You do seem to be letting this whole Gargomon thing get to you a little too much."

"He nearly killed both of you!" Henry exclaimed. "I'd say that this is a pretty fair reaction."

"Well, that's the thing - it was only nearly. Neither of us was seriously hurt - I got a few scrapes and Rika got a little laser burn, but that was all!"

"I know, but what if it happens again? I might not be so lucky!"

"Look, from what you told us Terriermon seems to think it won't happen again. I say we give it a try later - all you have to do is swipe a Digivolution card and see what happens. Guilmon will be there in case things go wrong, you can have a Rock Armour card ready to swipe, and I'm sure Rika and Renamon will help out if we ask them."

"I…I don't know, Takato…" Henry mumbled uncertainly. "What if the whole crazy thing only happens in battle? We could get lulled into a false sense of securi-"

"Oh, come on Henry! You worry too much!" Takato interrupted with a grin. "Just trust me, and trust Terriermon, and everything will be fine. Wow, there's a sentence I never expected to say…"

The blue-haired Tamer laughed at his friend's semi-sarcastic comment. "Okay, just as long as there's no sharp objects involved."

"Great! Oh, damn it, just remembered I've got a detention this afternoon…what do you say we meet in the park at Gorilla Clearing around 4 o'clock and we'll give it a try?"

Gorilla Clearing was the name Takato had given the clearing where Guilmon had defeated BlackGorillamon. Henry rolled his eyes at the nickname and grinned.

"We'll be there."

* * *

Gorilla Clearing, Kirkfield Park - 3:25pm

Henry had decided to head over to Gorilla Clearing early to get some thinking done, and had been pleasantly surprised when he had run into Steph en route. The boy had gladly accepted her offer of company and spent a good fifteen minutes talking through his theories and fears about Terriermon's moment of madness with her.

"Wow…that's pretty messed up," the girl said, breaking the long silence that had descended upon the pair. "So, you think that Terriermon's loss of control was partly due to the extreme difference in power between his two forms, partly due to his extreme emotions at the time of his Digivolution and partly due to your dislike of fighting?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Huh. I don't get how your pacifism could make Terriermon go kill-crazy. I mean, they're completely opposite emotions and you're two separate people, right?"

"Of course we are!" Terriermon giggled. "I can hardly stand just living with Henry - if we were the same person, he'd nag me to death!"

"Terriermon…"

"You're just proving my point here…"

"Anyway…" Henry sighed, moving back to the topic at hand. "We know that partners _can _have very strong mental links, like Rika and Renamon's telepathy. My theory is that emotions can be transmitted with an in-"

The boy was cut off by a loud beeping coming from his D-Arc. He stared at the screen in confusion for a second before looking at Steph with panic-filled eyes.

"Steph, get out of here! NOW!"

The Tamer's warning came too late as a massive cloud of fog descended on the clearing, obscuring the surrounding forest from view. Steph clutched Henry's arm in fear as a painfully bright light suddenly flared at the centre of the Digital Field and an evil, manic laugh rang through the clearing.

"H-Henry?" she whimpered as a massive black shape appeared in front of them. It was about fifteen feet tall and abnormally thin, with ragged bat-like wings, glowing red eyes and a lizard-like head.

Henry scanned the new arrival with his D-Arc, gulping in fear at what he saw.

_Name: Devidramon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Crimson Nail_

_Red Eyes_

"This isn't good…" the boy muttered and glanced at Terriermon. "Looks like we're gonna be running the test sooner than we thought! You up for it?"

"Do ya even have to ask?" the dog-bunny replied as his Tamer drew the necessary card.

"**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

Henry's D-Arc let out a low double-beep, glowed for a split second and then went dark. The words "**DIGIVOLUTION FAILURE - GUARDIAN SPIRIT LOST**" briefly appeared on the small device's screen. Terriermon glanced at the boy nervously, then looked back at Devidramon.

"Henry, any time now…"

"Working on it…" the boy replied, slashing the card again, but to no avail. "I don't get it! This should be working!"

"Well, let's just momentai and make the best of it. Now modify me already!"

"**Digi-Modify! Power activate!**"

"**Bunny Blast!**"

Terriermon fired a green ball of energy at Devidramon, striking him in the stomach. The massive devil-dragon roared in annoyance and leapt at the smaller Digimon, claws glowing red.

"**Crimson Nail!**"

Terriermon dodged to the side, his opponent's attack tearing a chunk out of the ground where he had been stood seconds earlier. The dog-rabbit unleashed another "**Bunny Blast!**", hitting behind the dragon's right kneecap and forcing him down onto one knee. With an angry snarl, Devidramon span around and tried to swat Terriermon like an insect, only for the smaller Digimon to dodge between his legs, launching into a "**Terrier Tornado!**" that struck him in the left leg, knocking the dragon flat on his back.

"Oh yeah! Who da mon? Who da mo-URK!" Terriermon yelped, his boasting cut off by a blow from his opponent's tail.

The smaller Digimon was sent sailing through the air, smashing painfully into a small pile of rocks. Devidramon roared in triumph and pounced on the smaller Digimon, holding him down with one claw as he crouched down, preparing to bite his head off. Henry began rummaging desperately through his cards, looking for a way to save his partner. Steph, however, decided on a more "hands-on" approach.

"Leave him alone you big bully!" she shouted as she ran at the draconic Digimon, grabbing a nearby stick and jamming it into Devidramon's right eye.

The dragon roared in agony and yanked his head into the air, taking Steph with him. The blonde-haired girl landed in a small shrub a few metres away, unharmed except for a few cuts and bruises. She quivered in fear as Devidramon turned his furious gaze in her direction and began stomping slowly towards her.

"You are going to pay for that, little human."

"Steph, no!" Henry cried, not noticing the text flickering across his D-Arc's screen.

**GUARDIAN SPIRIT RE-ACQUIRED**

**DIGIVOLUTION UNLOCKED**

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Terriermon, digivolve to…**"

Terriermon was once again encased in a glowing green data sphere, which exploded to reveal the gun-toting form of Gargomon.

"**…Gargomon!**"

Devidramon paused and turned, glaring hungrily at his new opponent. With an angry snarl he turned and leapt at the oversized rabbit, jaws open wide to tear off his head.

"**Bunny Pummel!**" Gargomon shouted, swinging his right arm at his opponent's face.

The blow connected with bone-shattering force, sending the dragon flying into a nearby tree. Devidramon pulled himself to his feet and quickly took to the skies on his massive wings.

"You just don't know when you're beaten, do you little rabbit?" he growled as he circled above his foe.

"I ain't so little anymore! **Gargo Lasers!**" the rabbit replied, sending a volley of energy bolts tearing through the demon-dragon's wings.

Devidramon struck the ground with a roar of pain, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Climbing to his feet once again, he leapt at Gargomon, pinning him to the ground by his arms. The dragon lunged forwards, trying to tear his opponent's head off with his teeth. The rabbit quickly jerked his head to the side, dodging several attacks from the snapping jaws before he called out to his Tamer.

"Henry, use a Strength card and a Power card on me - I have a plan!"

"Gargomon, I…"

"Henry, I can handle the power. I'm not gonna go berserk again, so hit me already!"

"Oh man…**Digi-Modify! Strength activate! Power activate!**"

Gargomon's left arm cannon began glowing green, and the rabbit quickly wrenched it free of Devidramon's grip. As the dragon made another attempt to bite his head off, the smaller Digimon jammed his cannon into the dragon's mouth, teeth breaking on the hard metal.

"**Gargo Lasers!**"

A deafening explosion rang out through the Digital Field as Devidramon's head exploded in a massive burst of green light. Gargomon climbed to his feet, absorbed the free-floating data of his opponent and shot his Tamer a grin.

"Who da MON?"

"Gargomon…good work, buddy!"

"Wow, Brainiac - it looks like you finally managed to grow a spine," Rika's voice called from behind the blue-haired boy. "Not a bad job."

Henry turned to see the redhead climbing off of Kyubimon's back with a smirk on her face. "Well, I had a good teacher…"

"Damn right you did! Steph, you still in one piece?"

"I…yeah, I'm okay," the blonde-haired girl replied, standing up a little shakily. "Henry, Gargomon, you guys…you saved my life."

"Momentai! You did the same thing for me, remember?" Gargomon laughed as he de-digivolved to Terriermon in a burst of white light.

"Yeah, I know, but still…"

"Hold on a second - Goldilocks saved Rabbitmon's life?" Rika exclaimed in confusion.

"It's a long story…" the girl mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"Not really," Henry said with a grateful smile. "Terriermon was about to get eaten alive, so she stabbed Devidramon in the eye with a stick."

"My, my…and I thought Rika was the hot-headed one…" Kyubimon chuckled, drawing a warning glare from her Tamer.

"Kyubimon…" the redhead growled.

"Whoa…" Terriermon muttered and scratched his head. "For a second there it was like looking in a mirror or something."

"WHAT?" Rika and Kyubimon shouted at the same time, both girl and Digimon taking a menacing step towards the diminutive rabbit.

"Uh, momentai?"


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Fear**

Thursday 30th September - 11:48pm

Outside Redcliff Mount High School

Moonlight glinted off of the white-painted chassis of the "Jones and Johnson" coach sat outside Redcliff Mount's main entrance. The massive vehicle was filled almost to the brim with Year 8 students waiting impatiently to begin the eighteen-hour drive to the Loire Valley region of France.

"I can't believe Takato! I swear, the guy will be late to his own funeral…" Cam muttered in an irritated voice. He and Steph were sat near the back of the coach on the right hand side, Cam having stolen the window seat.

"I know," Steph whispered and sighed. "I could understand it if it was just Takato that was late, but I thought his mum was really good with stuff like this!"

"Yeah, but his dad's just as bad at being on time for stuff. Maybe worse, actually…"

"I still can't believe he'd risk missing this trip. It cost a fortune, too!"

"Yeah, it's not every day you get to miss a week of school to go to France…wait, is that him?"

"Let's see…limping, suitcase looks like it's gonna explode, very angry looking Japanese woman dragging him along - yeah, that's Takato," Steph sighed as the boy tripped over his suitcase and landed flat on his face, then was nearly crushed to death by a tearful hug from his mother.

The brown-haired Tamer grinned sheepishly as he threw his suitcase clumsily into the coach's hold and climbed aboard. "Sorry I'm late Mr. Alistair, my dad managed to set fire to the living room curtains."

The elderly History teacher took one look at Mei Matsuki's slightly singed white shirt and decided he believed the child. "At least we know where you get your clumsiness from…" the man sighed, waving the boy down the coach.

Takato walked towards the back of the coach, grinning as he spotted a free aisle seat right behind Cam and Steph. The boy's grin disappeared as soon as he noticed who was sat in the window seat, and a hint of fear wormed its way into his mind as he realised that it was the only free seat near his friends.

_Ah, crap…eighteen hours on a coach sat next to Rika? She's gonna kill me…

* * *

_

"Uh, hey there Rika!" Takato said and grinned, ignoring the glare the redhead gave him as he sat down next to her.

Rika was in a foul mood. She was going on a week-long trip with people she could barely stand to be in the same room as for five seconds. She was being forced to go on said trip by her narcissistic mother. Worst of all, Rumiko hadn't even bothered to show up to wave her daughter off, having been "unavoidably held up" in London.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" she snapped and rolled her eyes. "Cam was right - you'd be late to your own funeral…"

"Hey! You mind not listening in on my conversations?" the black-haired boy exclaimed, turning in his seat and glaring at the Tamer.

"I can't help it - you're sat right in front of me, moron. And you whisper _really_ loud!"

"She does have a point, Cam. You do have trouble keeping quiet…" Steph giggled, turning round to join the conversation.

"Why is it that whenever Rika insults me, you guys agree with her?" Cam complained, shooting a mock glare at Steph.

"Because she's usually right!" Steph replied, patting the boy on the head patronisingly.

"Are you guys gonna be like this for the whole eighteen hours? Because, seeing as it's nearly midnight, I was planning on actually _getting some sleep_!" Rika growled, glaring at the pair in front of her.

Cam immediately let out a squeak of fear and turned back around, sinking as far into his seat as was possible. Steph giggled again at her friend's discomfort before turning around herself.

"Uh, Rika?" Takato said cautiously, looking around at the sea of chattering people surrounding them. "I don't think you're gonna be able to shut the entire coach up…"

The girl glared at him coldly. "I can try."

* * *

Half an hour later, and Rika had temporarily abandoned her attempt to sleep, instead settling for listening to some incredibly loud heavy metal music on her iPhone. Try as she might, the redhead simply couldn't intimidate a whole coach full of excited twelve and thirteen year olds into silence. As the girl had retrieved the device from her backpack, Takato had been surprised to see what appeared to be a Viximon stuffed toy crammed into the main pocket.

_Wow, I guess even Rika has her soft side…_

"Hey, Takato," Cam began, turning in his seat to face his friend. "I was wondering how Guilmon's gonna survive being on his own for a week? Did you get Henry to agree to go round and feed him every day or something?"

"Uh, actually…I managed to smuggle Guilmon into the cargo hold with enough bread to last him a few days."

"Wha…? How the hell did you manage that?" Steph exclaimed, poking her head around the side of her seat. "And will he be okay stuck in the cargo hold for eighteen hours?"

"He should be fine - he'll probably just sleep through the whole journey. As for getting him in there - it involved a lot of careful planning and forethought…and me making a big enough fool of myself to distract the drivers while Guilmon slipped in through the open cargo door."

"That must have been a challenge…" Cam said sarcastically.

"Actually, it kind of was. It's surprisingly hard to set something like that up without it looking fake."

"Yeah, I can imagine!" Steph laughed quietly, then looked at Rika as the noise emanating from the Tamer's headphones quieted down noticeably. "What about you, Rika? Is Renamon clinging to the bottom of the bus like in some James Bond film?"

"No, she's in my backpack."

"What? How could she fit in there?" Cam frowned sceptically, only to jump as the redhead's backpack began rustling gently. "Okay, what the hell is that?"

"Me," a mature, feminine voice answered curtly as the Viximon 'doll' Takato had spotted earlier poked its head out of the bag and leapt into Rika's lap.

"Wait…how is that…she de-digivolved!" Takato exclaimed, keeping his voice low so as not to attract the attention of one of the teachers dotted around the coach.

"Renamon has the rare ability to switch between her Rookie and In-training forms at will. The ability isn't perfect - she can't maintain her form as Viximon for more than about eighteen hours at a time without re-Digivolving to Renamon, but it still comes in pretty handy."

"Um, won't that be cutting it a little close? I mean, the coach journey is meant to take eighteen hours, and that's without delays," Cam pointed out, frowning as Steph and Takato gave him an odd look. "What?"

"Wow, he actually has a point there…" Takato mumbled, ignoring the indignant look on his friend's face.

"Random chance says that it had to happen sooner or later," Steph grinned, elbowing the black-haired boy in the ribs playfully. "So, what are you guys gonna do if time starts getting short?"

"She won't be spending the whole time in my bag. We'll be stopping at least once when we're in France. When that happens, Viximon will digivolve back to Renamon and spend the rest of the journey in the cargo hold."

"Oh, that's a pretty good idea. Plus it'll give Guilmon some company," Takato said and nodded absent-mindedly. "Damn it, I just realised - this means that Henry and Terriermon are the only guys on call if there's a Bio-emergence."

"You only just realised that? Wow, and you guys call me dumb…" Cam grinned.

"You worry too much, Gogglehead. Bio-emergences tend to come in sudden waves, so things should be quieter after the rush in the last few weeks. Besides, if anything unexpected happens, he's got a cool head on his shoulders, Gargomon's finally under control and he's good with strategy. Brainiac will be fine," Rika sighed, frowning as Steph, Cam and Takato gave her identical confused stares. "What?"

"Ummm…did you just pay someone a compliment?" the black-haired boy asked cautiously.

"Yeah, so?" the redhead growled, glaring at the boy.

"What's the matter Cam - jealous?" Steph teased, laughing at the flustered look that smeared itself across her friend's face a second later.

"What? No! It's just a little…odd…" he spluttered, wincing as Rika let out a soft "hmmph!" and looked away, shaking her head gently.

"I don't just hurl insults for the sake of it, you know - Brainiac is far from the worst Tamer I've ever met. That honour had to go to Kazu Shioda. He was basically like the Japanese version of Cam - irritating, incompetent and delusional."

Takato laughed at the outraged look plastered to his friend's face as the black-haired boy let out a growl of irritation. "Hey! I'm right here you know!"

"How could I forget…" the redhead muttered sarcastically, turning the volume on her iPhone up to the maximum that she could tolerate and closing her eyes.

* * *

Friday 1st October - 7:30am

Dover Ferry Port

Rika opened her eyes with a start as Viximon woke her with a gentle telepathic 'nudge'. The girl had finally dozed off some time after 1am, Cam having taken that long to shut up and get some sleep himself.

_"Rika, we will be boarding the ferry any minute now."_

_"Okay, thanks…How long was I asleep?" _the redhead replied, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

_"About six hours."_

_"Damn it…okay, let's get you back into my bag while nobody's watching."_

The vulpine Digimon rolled herself into a ball, and Rika carefully stuffed her into the backpack. Glancing to her left, the girl noticed that Takato was still fast asleep. The boy shifted in his seat and mumbled something about "purple".

_If he's having another damn dream about me…_ Rika thought angrily and pinched Takato's nose, cutting off his air supply.

"GAH! I didn't mean to…!" the boy yelped as he shot awake, then looked around in confusion. "Wait, what the…?"

"You were dreaming, Gogglehead. We'll be on the ferry in a few minutes."

"Oh, uh, thanks."

"Whatever," the redhead muttered and turned away to look out of the window.

* * *

Rika had planned on letting Viximon re-digivolve to Renamon on the ferry and get some exercise, but her plans were foiled by Mr. Alistair. The elderly Head of History refused to let any of the thirty-five children on the trip out of a teacher's sight for more than a minute at a time. The vulpine Digimon ended up spending almost five more hours in the redhead's backpack, only managing to escape and revert to her Rookie form when the coach stopped at a service station over three hours after arriving in France.

_"Never again!" _the kitsune growled mentally after she had broken free from her fabric prison.

_"Sorry about that, I didn't expect Mr. Alistair to be so strict on the ferry. Maybe it would be better if you spent the whole journey home in the cargo hold…"_

_"Agreed."

* * *

_

Friday 24th September - 6:50pm Local time (5:50pm British Summer Time)

Le Bonhomme Joli Holiday Village, Loire Valley, France

The coach finally pulled into the holiday village where the children were staying just before 7pm local time, and forty exhausted schoolchildren were soon dragging themselves out of their seats and into the traditional three-storey French manor-house. While the five teachers and two coach drivers were distracted trying to control the stampede, they failed to notice the cargo door on the opposite side of the coach open slowly and a red dinosaur poke its head out and sniff the air.

"Come on, Renamon! It's all clear!" Guilmon whispered before bounding off into the small forest next to the manor. A humanoid fox materialised next to the open door, closing it quietly before disappearing again.

* * *

_"Guilmon and I are out of the coach. We were not seen."_

Rika smiled to herself as her partner made contact with her. _"Good work. Help Dino-boy find a place to sleep, then wait in the bushes near the willow tree out back."_

_"As you wish…"_

"Hey, Gogglehead!" Rika called in Japanese, seeing Takato stood with Cam and Steph waiting for his suitcase to be unloaded. "Renamon and Guilmon are off the coach. She'll be waiting by the willow tree in fifteen minutes to take you to Dino-boy."

"Great!" the Tamer replied, a grin splitting his face. "Tell her-"

"Okay students, quiet down now!" Mr. Alistair called, interrupting the Tamers' conversation. "I will now be handing out your room assignments for the week. Girls will be on the middle floor, boys will be on the ground and top floors."

A chorus of groans greeted this piece of information. "I still can't believe they won't let us choose our own roommates!" Cam muttered to Takato, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, knowing our luck, we'll get stuck in rooms with Luke Aaron's little henchman."

"What? One of them's on the trip? Is it the stupid one?" Cam hissed, frowning as Takato shook his head. "The ugly one?" Another head shake. "Oh, the one you and Henry got in that fight with!"

"Yeah, him…"

"Quiet down!" Mr. Alistair shouted again before starting on the room list. "Okay, I'll start with the girls. Room one, two people: Rika Nonaka and Stephanie Rare."

"Ouch, poor Steph…" Cam mumbled as the blonde and the redhead dragged their suitcases up the stone staircase leading to the manor's main entrance.

"She'll be fine - Rika doesn't hate her that much," Takato replied with a grin as the elderly teacher continued shouting out names and room numbers. "I wonder how they decided who gets put in a room together?"

"Maybe it's based on who you're sat with in your History classes."

"I hope so…"

"Okay, now for the boys! Top floor, room one, three people: Ryan Cable, Joe Carr, Steven Dunn."

Takato grimaced sympathetically as he saw Luke Aaron's henchman walk forwards, two boys he recognised from his Music lessons as Joe and Steven shuffling along behind him dejectedly. "Poor Joe and Steve…" he muttered.

"Top floor, room two, two people: Takato Matsuki and Cameron Ridings."

"Yes!" the brown-haired Tamer hissed as he made his way towards the main entrance. "Oh damn it! This means we're stuck next door to Ryan Cable…"

"Well, mate, look at it this way - at least if he starts picking on Joe and Steve, you can always wander on over and beat the crap out of him again!"

* * *

Woods near Le Bonhomme Joli Holiday Village, Loire Valley, France - 7:15pm Local time (6:15pm British Summer Time)

"YAY! TAKATOMON!" Guilmon shouted joyously and leapt on his Tamer.

"Ow, Guilmon - get off me!" Takato yelped as the red dinosaur began licking his face.

"Wow, does he do that _every_ time he sees you?" Cam asked with a grin. The black-haired boy had been forced to accompany his friend into the nearby woods to get around Mr. Alistair's rule against students going anywhere alone.

"Pretty much, yeah," the Tamer sighed as he picked himself up off of the ground. "Sorry I can't stay long, boy. I've got to be at the main dining hall for dinner in ten minutes, but I'll try to come and see you after that."

"Awww…" Guilmon moaned, giving the boy his best 'puppy-dog' eyes. "But what am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

"Try digging yourself a den, or doing whatever it is you do when I'm at school all day. You're gonna be on your own quite a lot for the next week, so you're gonna have to get used to it," Takato replied gently, patting his partner on the nose.

"Oh…okay then…"

"Thanks, boy! I gotta go now - Mr. Alistair will kill me if I'm late."

"Bye Takatomon!"

As Takato and Cam left, the Digimon began digging furiously into the side of a nearby hill. When they were safely out of earshot, Cam turned to his friend and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"You know…Look, don't take this the wrong way, but…Are you sure it was a good idea bringing Guilmon with you? I mean, it's gonna be pretty hard smuggling him back into England, and you're gonna have to feed him while he's here," the black-haired boy said warily.

"I know, but I couldn't just leave him for a week! You should see how depressed he gets when I leave him to go to school on a morning. I don't think he could take much more than a couple of days away from me, and I couldn't pull out of the trip without it looking suspicious."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

* * *

Friday 1st October - 6:30pm

Kirkfield Park

"There it is, Henry!" Terriermon called from atop the boy's head as he spotted the small Digital Field in the middle of a nearby clearing. "Mush, boy, mush!"

"Terriermon…" the blue-haired Tamer said reflexively as he ran towards the Bio-emerging Digimon. "I don't like this. My D-Arc keeps giving me really erratic readings. Can you sense anything?"

"Not much here…It's almost like the Digimon in the Field is…dying," the rabbit-like Digimon frowned and leapt to the ground.

"Alright, let's check it out," Henry sighed as the pair walked cautiously through the outer layer of fog to see…

Nothing.

The Digital Field enclosed a three-metre wide circular area of grass, with a small shrub providing the only scenery. Terriermon took a quick look around and asked the obvious question.

"Okay…so where the hell is the Digimon?"

Henry shook his head and frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know, maybe it…"

The boy trailed off as he caught a glimpse of something shiny in the shrub. Kneeling down, he began to rummage carefully in the branches of the small plant, retrieving what looked like a small metal computer mouse with glowing red eyes.

"A MetalKoromon?" Henry muttered, peering at the tiny Digimon closely. _That explains why the digital field was so small…_

Terriermon wandered over and smiled at the mouse-creature. "Hey there, little guy. Don't worry, we won't hurt you…"

MetalKoromon suddenly flickered with static and let out a small whimper, then disintegrated into specks of free floating data.

"No!" Henry shouted, desperately trying to catch the rapidly dispersing data with his bare hands.

"Poor little guy," the rabbit Digimon mumbled sadly as he placed a comforting ear-hand on his Tamer's shoulder. "The strain of Bio-emerging must have drained too much of his energy. There wasn't anything we could do."

"I know…" the blue-haired boy sighed, wiping a lone tear from his cheek before he looked up and noticed something odd. "Uh, Terriermon? Why isn't the Digital Field disappearing?"

"Uh, good question," he replied, scratching his head thoughtfully with one ear-hand. "Maybe it's just a delayed reaction or some…there we go!"

Sure enough, the thick digital fog began rapidly dissipating, leaving the pair stood in the middle of a small clearing. Getting slowly to his feet, Henry picked his partner up and began walking slowly home.

"Come on, we'd better get you back before Suzie throws a tantrum…"

Neither the boy nor the Digimon noticed that the small shrub appeared to be casting an oddly long, dark shadow. As the pair moved out of sight of the clearing, the shadow suddenly detached itself from the plant, flowing at incredible speed towards Redcliff Mount High School.

* * *

_Perfect…_ the shadow thought as it flowed up the wall of the old-fashioned Science building. As it reached the roof, it stopped moving and a tall, winged, white-skinned figure began to rise out of the darkness. _Using that dying MetalKoromon as a decoy was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The fools had all their attention focussed on the pathetic little creature, giving me time to fully Bio-emerge. And I even managed to disguise the collapse of the Field as being caused by its death…_

When the figure had fully emerged from its shadow, it flexed its ragged, bat-like wings and let out a soul-chilling chuckle. "Soon this world shall tremble before the power of IceDevimon…"

_But first, I must find the Cold One…_ The small red gem set into IceDevimon's forehead glowed softly for a moment, and the fallen angel growled in frustration. _Yes…I sense her…but, wait…this cannot be…the signal is so…distant! How is that possible? I am definitely at the correct co-ordinates - the other Tamer's presence proves that - and according to my sources, most humans do not usually travel over such long distances on a regular basis…_

IceDevimon sank back into his shadow, which began to flow southwards faster than the human eye could follow. _No matter! The Cold One __**will **__be mine, and then both worlds shall bow down and worship me!

* * *

_

Saturday 25th September - 2:25pm Local Time

Fontevraud Abbey, France

Rika let out a sigh of boredom as Mr. Alistair began rambling on about some new aspect of the 'fascinating' history of Fontevraud Abbey. He was giving them a guided tour of the medieval site, and had been talking practically non-stop for nearly an hour about various topics, including the feud between Richard the Lionheart and his father Henry II, the Third Crusade and something to do with the French Revolution. The Tamer had given up on trying to pay attention within a few minutes, instead opting for covertly listening to music on her iPhone. The girl had to suppress a smirk as 'Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr' by Trivium began playing. _Oh, the irony…_

"Kill…me…" she heard Cam whispering from in front of her. "Can't…take it…anymore…"

"Quit being so dramatic!" Steph replied. "Would you prefer to be in school?"

"It's Saturday. I'd be at home now, kicking Takato's ass on Call of Duty."

"Uh, Cam, if I remember correctly I tore you to shreds last time we played. And the time before that. And the time before that…" Takato whispered and grinned.

"Yeah, well I've been practicing! I'll eat you alive next time!"

"Um, are you guys done? We're getting left behind, here!" Steph hissed and quickened her pace, the two boys doing the same and rejoining the rest of the group.

Rika cursed mentally as she realised that she was getting pretty far from the group as well. The redhead had no desire to be lectured by Mr. Alistair, and was about to speed up herself when she suddenly felt a cold shiver run down her spine as she was filled with a feeling of intense dread. She span around, looking for the cause of her sudden, violent reaction, but saw nothing but French tourists and shadows. The girl turned around and started walking quickly, gripped by a sudden fear of being left alone with the shadows.

* * *

The strange incident at Fontevraud was only the first of many. At least twice a day, Rika found herself feeling as if she was being watched by…_something_. Every time it happened, an inexplicable terror washed over her, but when she turned around, she saw nothing apart from a tiny flash of white out of the corner of her eye. The frequency and intensity of the strange attacks were reducing the girl to a nervous wreck - she was jumping at shadows, refusing to go anywhere alone and was becoming even more distant (if that was at all possible) and paranoid with each passing day. Renamon had noticed the changes in behaviour, but decided against asking about the cause, feeling that Rika would discuss it when she was ready. Steph had also noticed her roommate's odd behaviour, and once again decided on a more hands-on approach to the problem at hand.

* * *

Tuesday 5th October - 8:15pm

Room P1, Chez de Luxe, Le Bonhomme Joli Holiday Village, France.

Rika and Steph wandered back into their room, just getting back from their evening meal. The French chef had once again decided to serve barely-edible pickled slop to his English customers, much to the blonde girl's chagrin.

"I thought the French were meant to be famous for their great food!" she complained as her red-haired roommate unlocked their bedroom door. "Just _once_ I'd like to have a starter that isn't pickled and a main course that's actually edible!"

Rika didn't reply, instead walking cautiously into the room and turning on the light. As the small room was illuminated, revealing nothing out-of-the-ordinary, the Tamer breathed a sigh of relief and slumped onto her bed.

"Rika…what's going on?" Steph asked, sitting on her own bed and watching the girl carefully.

"What are you talking about Goldilocks?" the redhead muttered and rolled over so that she was face-down on the bed.

"I'm talking about you jumping at your own shadow! I'm talking about you stopping talking when you're halfway through an insult! I'm talking about the way you've been acting the last few days!" the blonde girl exclaimed, flinching as Rika sat up and threw her an angry glare.

"Why the hell do _you _care?"

"I care because I'm worried about you! And if something's scary enough to make a badass Tamer like you jumpy, then I'm terrified!"

Rika looked away, staring at the floor for a few seconds before answering in a quiet, timid voice completely unlike her usual tone. "This is so stupid…okay, do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?"

"Uh, sometimes, I guess. Is that what has you so spooked out?"

"It's not just that…I've been feeling like there was someone watching me since we got here. I keep having these weird cold shivers, and I start feeling so…so…"

"Afraid?" Steph suggested helpfully.

Rika nodded, mentally thanking Steph for not making her say the word. "I don't know why it keeps happening! I keep feeling like there's someone stood behind me about to stick a knife in my back, but when I turn around there's nothing there! I know I'm not imagining this - every time it happens, the room suddenly gets cold and I start seeing…my own…breath…"

The redhead's eyes widened with fear, and Steph realised that the temperature in the room had dropped dramatically while Rika was talking. The blonde shivered, noticing the ice coating the large windows and the puff of mist as she exhaled. As a shadow began flowing up the wall behind her roommate, Steph opened her mouth to shout a warning, only to find herself unable to speak.

Rika saw Steph's horrified stare and leapt to her feet only for a massive pair of taloned white hands to emerge from the shadow and grab her, pinning her arms to her sides and covering her mouth. The Tamer tried to scream and fight against the monstrous talons, but their grip was too strong and the girl found herself being dragged slowly back towards the shadow.

"RIKA!" an angry voice shouted as Renamon materialised in the centre of the room and leapt to her Tamer's aid.

"**Avalanche Claw!**" a distant voice called, and a storm of icicles flew from the shadow, throwing the kitsune across the room.

As Rika was swallowed up by the shadow, Steph finally found her voice and did the only thing she could.

She screamed.

* * *

"Seriously dude, I don't know why you're so nice to the girl. All she does is insult us and beat the crap out of us for the tiniest little things!" Cam moaned as he and Takato walked from the dining area towards the manor's main entrance.

"Rika's not that bad! She's okay when you get to know her, and I kind of feel sorry for her…" the Tamer replied, shuffling uncomfortably as he said the last part.

"You feel _sorry_ for her? Why the hell would you feel sorry for the Ice Queen?"

"Come on, don't call her that!"

"Why not? She's so damn cold to everyone, she might as well be made of ice!"

"Seriously, Cam. Stop it," Takato said as the pair entered the manor, his voice deadly serious. "I think she's had kind of a rough past, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't get on too well with her mum. And she's not cold, she's just…sad. You can tell by looking at her."

Cam snorted and shook his head as they started climbing the stairs. "Whatever, dude. I still say she's-" He was cut off by a loud scream that rang out just as they passed the corridor leading to the girls' rooms. "Wait, that sounded like…"

"Steph!" the boys yelled as one, running madly towards their friend's room. The door was open when they got there, and what they saw left them stunned.

The room's windows were coated with a thick layer of ice, and the room itself was much colder than it should have been. Renamon was laid unconscious in the middle of the floor, Rika was nowhere to be seen and Steph was staring at the wall in front of her, tears of pure terror streaming down her face.

"Steph! Steph, what happened?" Cam said urgently, pulling the girl into a hug and whispering soothingly when he realised she was too terrified to talk.

"Renamon! Renamon, can you hear me?" Takato said, shaking the vulpine Digimon in an attempt to wake her.

"Steph, listen to me. Take deep breaths," Cam said gently, giving her an encouraging smile when she did as he asked. "That's better. Now, tell me what happened."

"I was…I was t-talking to Rika, and she said she thought someone had been following her since she g-got here, then the room got really cold and…" The blonde-haired girl stopped and took a series of deep breaths. "This shadow just started moving up the wall, and then some big white hands shot out of it and grabbed Rika. It started pulling her back towards it, then Renamon appeared and tried to help her but it…it…this voice just shouted and she got hit by…this wall of flying icicles!"

Cam pulled the girl back into a hug as she started sobbing again. "It's okay, Steph. It's okay. What happened to Rika?"

"The claws they…they dragged her into the shadow! She got pulled straight through the wall!"

"Ri…ka…" a voice groaned, making Steph jump and start sobbing again.

"Renamon!" Takato gasped, helping the kitsune to her feet.

"Rika…she was taken…" the Digimon croaked, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Do you know who took her? Or where?"

"I know where…I can sense her through our link…as for who, I am not sure. I only heard the name…the name of the attack he hit me with."

"What was the attack called? I might recognise it!"

"Avalanche…Claw…"

Takato's face paled visibly with fear, and the Tamer took a step back. "Oh no…"

"Takato? What is it?" Cam asked, worried by his friend's reaction.

"Avalanche Claw is one of the attacks of a Digimon called IceDevimon. He's a sadistic nutcase who enjoys inflicting as much pain and misery as possible on his victims before he…kills them…" the boy said, shaking his head.

"Then what the hell are you w-waiting for? Get your arse out th-there and help her!" Steph exclaimed between sobs, shocking Takato out of his fear-induced trance.

"Right! Renamon, if I go get Guilmon can you lead us to Rika?" the brown-haired Tamer asked, his voice full of steely determination.

"I will do more than that," the kitsune replied and stood up straight, dangerous levels of cold fury in her voice. "This scum has taken my Tamer. My _Rika_. I am going to tear him apart byte by byte until there is nothing left of him but ashes and memories!"

"Uh, I'll take that as a yes, then. Meet me at Guilmon's cave and we'll-"

"My way is quicker," Renamon interrupted, grabbing the boy and activating her _Kohenkyo_ ability without waiting for his permission.

"Well…she sure knows how to make an exit!" Cam joked feebly as the pair disappeared, drawing a tiny smile from Steph.

* * *

_Where…am I?_ Rika thought as she groggily opened her eyes. The girl looked around her, seeing that she was on a plateau about twenty metres wide near the top of a large hill. The plateau was sheltered on three sides by steep slopes, while the fourth side was a thirty-metre drop to a fast-flowing river at the bottom of the hill.

"Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly…" a voice crooned menacingly behind the girl. _What the…?_

Rika looked down to see that she was wrapped in a pair of ragged white bat-like wings. The wings parted, depositing the redhead gently on the ground and allowing her to take a good look at her kidnapper.

"You…I know you…you're IceDevimon!" she gasped, shivering in the cold night air.

"Indeed I am. I have been searching for one such as yourself for a _very _long time," the thin white demon said and took a step towards the girl.

"St-stay back!" she warned, backing away from the intimidating figure. "What do you want with me?"

"Why, my dear, I want you to be my Tamer! What else could I possibly want from a human?" he laughed and took another step forward, Rika taking one back. "I'd be careful if I were you - you're awfully close to the edge…"

As the redhead glanced nervously over her shoulder, IceDevimon leapt forwards and grabbed her in his massive talons, taking advantage of her distraction. Rika struggled in his grasp, freezing as her captor began to laugh coldly.

"My, you are a spirited one aren't you? I'm going to enjoy breaking you…"

"What makes you think I'd want to be a Tamer to a freak like you?" she growled, resuming her struggles.

"Let me show you…" the fallen angel growled, his voice suddenly deepening as the red jewel on his forehead started to glow white.

A thick fog began gathering around the pair, creating a spherical Digital Field over thirty metres in diameter. Rika redoubled her struggles as the outer edges of the fog cloud began to coalesce into a wall of solid ice, trapping her in with IceDevimon. The girl arched her back and opened her mouth in a silent scream as a beam of white light shot from IceDevimon's glowing gem, striking her in the forehead.

_**"HELP ME…RENAMON…TAKATO!"

* * *

**_

_**"TAKATO!"**_

Takato fell to his knees with a yelp of pain as Rika's voice tore through his mind. Guilmon let out a yelp of his own and rushed to his Tamer's side.

"Takatomon? What is it?"

"Rika…I heard…Rika…" the boy gasped, climbing shakily to his feet. "How…is that possible?"

"She is…calling out to us…" Renamon whispered from ahead of the pair. "She…needs me…"

Takato looked at Renamon lying at the bottom of a tree, realising that she had fallen to the floor at the same time as he had. The vulpine Digimon had been using her link with Rika to lead Guilmon and Takato to the redhead when the sudden telepathic scream had hit the group.

"Renamon? Are you okay?" the boy asked, staggering over to the kitsune.

"The pain…so much pain…" she croaked, trying to stand without much success.

"Damn it! Are you gonna be okay to carry on?"

"Not me…that is in pain…" Renamon replied, standing at last. Takato was shocked to see tears in her eyes. "…Rika…he is in her mind…in her heart…I can see it all…feel it all. So…much…pain…"

* * *

Sorry, couldn't resist leaving it on a cliffhanger! Also couldn't resist having an IceDevimon appearance - it just wouldn't be the same without it.


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

Here it its - the conclusion to the IceDevimon episode. Big thanks to all my reviewers, particularly I'm Yu for the detailed input on my OCs.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Tundra**

Somewhere…

Rika opened her eyes and looked around cautiously. Endless fields of ice and snow stretched as far as she could see in every direction.

_Where am I?_

The girl looked up, seeing a moonless night sky filled with cold stars. When she looked back to the ground, the redhead was shocked to see that a fifty-metre wide crater had materialised in front of her. Floating above the crater, high enough that Rika had to crane her neck slightly to see all of it at once, was a sphere of ice covered with a light dusting of snow. Rika peered closely at the sphere, seeing the faintest of glows emanating from its depths.

"What…is this place?" she whispered to herself, and was shocked when she received an answer.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize it, my dear," a voice chuckled, and the girl turned to see the familiar form of IceDevimon.

"You! What have you done to me? Where am I?"

"You really don't know, do you?" he said and laughed cruelly. "Oh, this is going to be fun…"

"Why the hell should I know? I've never seen this place before!"

"That is because you never looked…"

"What are you…" Rika began, but stopped as a biting wind blew over her.

_"Cold-hearted bitch…"_ a distorted yet familiar female voice whispered in the redhead's ear.

"Who's there?" she demanded, turning around to see nothing but the floating ice-sphere. _Cold-hearted bitch? The last person to call me that was that bitch Ebony…wait…it can't be…_

"And the penny finally drops!" IceDevimon laughed, placing one taloned hand on each of Rika's comparatively-tiny shoulders. "This is the part of your consciousness that you humans choose to refer to as your heart."

"No…this isn't…this can't be my…" she mumbled, so shocked she didn't even notice the fact that the fallen angel was touching her. "This is a trick. It has to be…"

"This is no trick, my little Ice Queen. This is the reason I chose _you_ to be my Tamer - we are the same, you and I."

"No!" Rika shouted and span around to face the Digimon. "I am _nothing _like you! I'm not some cold-hearted monster and _that_ is not my heart!"

IceDevimon merely laughed cruelly at the Tamer's outburst. "Oh, but you're not arguing with me, my dear - I cannot influence the appearance of this place. What you see is _your_ opinion of yourself."

"No! You're lying…trying to trick me…"

"Oh really? Then answer me this: you are stood in the middle of a field of ice, no sun in the sky, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Why are you not cold?"

Rika's mouth opened to answer, then quickly snapped closed. _He's…he's right. I can tell it's cold, I can feel the cold, but I'm not…it's like I'm…_

"It's because you are so used to it," the Digimon chuckled. "This cold emptiness has been a part of you for so many years, you don't even feel it any more. Any other human would have been hypothermic within seconds of arriving here."

"It can't…I…I…" Rika stammered as the wind picked up again, whispering every playground taunt, every snide comment, every bully's remark in her ear.

_"…I heard she kissed a guy and he died of hypothermia…" "…cold-hearted bitch…" "…they should send her to the North Pole, stop the ice caps melting…" "…she's not an emo - if she cut herself her blood would freeze to the razor…" "…Digimon Ice Queen…"_

"Are you really so blind? Everyone but you has been able to see it your whole life. Just accept it - you are _cold_!" IceDevimon whispered in the girl's ear as his forehead gem glowed white and he embraced her with his ragged wings.

* * *

A bright white light washed across Rika's vision, and she found herself in the living room of a traditional Japanese house. A sudden spark of recognition flashed in her mind and she frowned in confusion as she realised where she was.

_This looks like my old home back in Japan! But…it's different. We got rid of that old sofa years ago and…_

"Daddy!" a voice rang out, and Rika turned to see a girl of about five run into the room from the garden.

_That…that's me! But how…?_

The little girl had long, red hair and was wearing a blue dress. She was also crying and clutching her right hand.

_I remember this! I'd just been bitten on my hand by a spider…but that means…this is the day that…_

A relatively short, pale-skinned European man in his early twenties with short red hair walked quickly into the room, his violet eyes full of concern. He swept the crying girl up in his arms, hugging her tightly and whispering soothing words in her ear.

_Dad? DAD! Why can't you hear me? DAD!_

_It's like I'm not even here…_

James Nonaka carried his crying daughter over to a leather armchair and sat down, sitting her on his knee and hugging her some more. As the young Rika shifted in his lap and began crying even harder, the man began to look decidedly uncomfortable. After about a minute, he suddenly picked up the still-crying girl and placed her on the nearby sofa. The man ran to the kitchen, and the apparently-invisible Rika followed him, hearing him muttering "I can't do this anymore" over and over again as he grabbed his wallet, coat, passport and mobile phone. James ran back into the living room, giving the young Rika one last hug.

"Listen, honey. Daddy has to go away now, mummy should be back soon. Just wait here for her, you'll be fine."

"W-w-when will you be b-back?" the little girl sobbed as her beloved father practically ran towards the front door.

The man never answered her.

_"How long was it until your mother came home? How long were you left there, in pain and alone?" _IceDevimon's voice whispered in Rika's mind. _"Three hours? Four? How many weeks did it take before you realised he was never coming back?"_

The redhead just stood there staring at her younger self, tears fighting to break free from her eyes. _"Please…make it stop…"_

_"As you wish…" _the Digimon whispered as the white light enveloped the girl once again.

* * *

Near Le Bonhomme Joli Holiday Village, Loire Valley, France - 8:32pm

Renamon fought to hold back her own tears as Rika's pain was transmitted to her through their link. The kitsune staggered and fell to her knees as she landed heavily after jumping from a nearby tree, her concentration shattered by her Tamer's emotional anguish.

"Renamon? Are you sure you're okay?" Takato asked, wincing as the vulpine Digimon glared at him.

"I am fine, now please stop asking me that!" she snapped, leaping angrily to her feet. "Rika is close…I can feel it."

"Takatomon! I can smell a Digimon - it's in those hills up ahead!" Guilmon growled, his pupils narrowing to feral slits.

"That is where Rika is. Takato, use a Hyper Speed card on Guilmon and I'll carry you. We will reach them faster this way."

Takato did as Renamon asked, ordering his partner to run on ahead as fast as he could. A second later, the boy was swept off his feet by the kitsune for the second time as she activated her _Kohenkyo _ability.

_"Hold on Rika…help is on the way!"

* * *

_

"Nobody loves you, everybody hates you! Halfbreed's gonna die alone!" a chorus of children's voices sang out as the white glow enveloped Rika yet again. IceDevimon has just forced her to relive a memory of a day at school when she was six. A group of over twenty boys and girls in her year group had taken advantage of the teacher's distraction by a nearby fight and chased the redhead around the playground, chanting and pulling her hair.

When the light dissipated, Rika found herself at her old home again, in her bedroom. Looking around, she saw a seven-year-old version of herself laid on a lilac futon looking incredibly unwell. The girl was dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt, with her hair up in the trademark ponytail once again. As the Tamer watched, the bedroom's sliding door slammed open and a bearded Japanese man with long, dark hair staggered into the room. The man was obviously drunk, and he glared at the girl angrily before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her forcefully to her feet.

"Get out of bed you lazy shit!" he slurred, dragging the girl out of the door and into the living room. "Keep me up all night throwing up, will you? You're not bloody sick, you're just faking it for some attention! That shit might fly with your mum, but not with me, you hear me?"

By this point the man was yelling in the girl's face and shaking her forcefully at the end of every sentence. "Let go!" the seven-year-old cried, trying to break free of the man's grasp. When the man refused to let go, she resorting to kicking him in the shins.

"You little shit!" he roared and punched the girl in the stomach, winding her. "Don't you fucking kick me! I'll smash your whiny little skull in you bitch!" he continued, grabbing the girl by the hair again and slapping her in the face.

The man dragged the little girl through the house and threw her into a small closet in the bedroom he shared with her mother. Rika winced as she saw her younger self hit the floor hard and break down in tears. The drunk man shouted some more abuse at her before slamming the closet door shut, leaving the girl sobbing in the dark.

_"Yamato Shimazu," _IceDevimon whispered in her mind. _"Your mother's only long-term partner after your father left. She was with the man for almost a year. She even left you with him several times when she went away on business trips. She ignored your protests, failed to notice his drinking or your bruises. They only split up when your grandfather spotted the bruises and confronted him. He beat the man half to death before your grandmother intervened."_

_"Please, stop! Why are you doing this to me? Why?" _Rika sobbed as she remembered the hellish year.

_"You will see…" _he laughed, summoning the white glow again and depositing Rika in a hospital room full of doctors performing CPR on a man's body. _"…and then less than a year later your grandfather - your only protector - was dead. Stabbed in an alley for a few Yen and his mobile phone."_

_"Make it stop! Please, don't make me watch this again!"_

_"You had a quiet few years after this," _the fallen angel continued, ignoring the redhead's protests, summoning the white light again._ "Your grandmother moved in with you, the daily grind of teasing and hatred slowly wore you down. Then your mother moved away and you had your moment of weakness…"_

_"__**ENOUGH!**__" _Rika roared, the force of her rage dispelling the light and depositing her back in the frozen wasteland of her heart at IceDevimon's feet.

"My, my…is that a touchy subject then?" the Digimon smirked as the girl got shakily to her feet.

"Why?" she croaked, glaring at her tormentor. "Why did you show me all of…that? What do you want with me?"

"I told you, my dear - I want you to be my Tamer."

"And I told you - I don't want to be your Tamer! I already have a partner, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't want to be partnered with you!"

IceDevimon sighed and shook his head sadly. "Oh, Rika…why do you bother fighting to protect humanity from Digimon like me? Everything I just showed you proves that it is not worth saving. With your skills and my power you could make yourself ruler of the entire world!"

The Digimon gestured with one of his massive claws, summoning a sphere of darkness in mid-air. As Rika gazed into the sphere, she saw images beginning to take shape as her captor described them.

"You could march at the head of a digital legion, thousands of warriors killing millions in your name! You could lead them against the pitiful forces of the humans, crushing them one nation at a time. Monuments would be built in your image, mankind would revere you as a goddess in human form. Join with me, and you shall become immortal!"

"You…you're a monster!" the girl gasped, backing away from the sphere of darkness, only to be gripped by the throat and lifted into the air by an angry IceDevimon.

"Why do you protect them?" he roared in her face. "You owe mankind nothing! NOTHING! After all it has done to you, you have earned the right to rule your world!" The fallen angel turned, forcing the redhead to look into the darkness and whispered in her ear. "You could make them pay. You could make them _all_ pay…"

Rika's eyes widened as she saw a pile of mutilated corpses over ten metres high. As she gazed at their shredded, eyeless faces, the girl felt a wave of horror rising from her heart. Every single corpse belonged to somebody who had hurt her. There was Yamato Shimazu, the children from her old school in Japan, Ebony, Ruby, Kate, Luke Aaron and his henchmen. The list went on and on as the girl's eyes climbed the pile, and she let out a horrified gasp as she saw what lay at the top.

The creature was hideous. Its skin was ash-white and laced with diseased black veins. Ragged white wings emerged from its back, hands ending with wicked blood-stained talons. Its eyes were red, its mouth was filled with fangs and its tongue was long and barbed - but by far the creature's most disturbing feature was its face.

It was Rika's.

The Rika-creature let out a shriek of rage as a male silhouette appeared in front of her. She slashed with her talons, emitting a chilling laugh as she held up the severed head of James Nonaka.

"You could make _him _pay…"

* * *

Outside Digital Field near Le Bonhomme Joli Holiday Village, Loire Valley, France - 8:40pm

"Damn it!" Takato yelled and kicked the dome of solid ice in front of him. "How the hell are we meant to get through this stupid ice?"

"Maybe if I use Pyro Sphere again…" Guilmon suggested hopefully, frowning as his Tamer shook his head.

"It didn't even make a scratch last time - and that was with a Power card!" the boy groaned and buried his head in his hands. "This is so stupid! Rika's in there, just a few metres away, and we can't even get to her!"

"I. Will. Not. Be. BEATEN!" Renamon roared as she was shrouded with blue fire. "**Power Paw!**"

The kitsune leapt at the wall of ice, hitting it with a deafening thud and throwing up a massive dust cloud. When the dust cleared, there wasn't even a crack in the ice. With another roar, she threw herself at the dome again and again, refusing to yield to this last obstacle.

* * *

"No," Rika said, her voice as hard as iron.

"No? What do you mean 'no'?" IceDevimon growled, spinning the girl around and glaring into her eyes.

"I mean no!" she yelled at him, returning the glare and stunning the Digimon into silence. "I am not going to turn into a monster like you! I'd rather be dead than be your partner! _**NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD!**_"

IceDevimon dropped the redhead and staggered back with a roar of denial as the glow from the sphere of ice around Rika's heart intensified and cracks began to appear in its surface. He glared at the ice, then let out a snarl and looked back at the girl.

"It looks like I was wrong about you - you are just as weak as the rest of your pathetic planet!" the fallen angel spat angrily, then turned and flew towards the crumbling prison of ice, darkness gathering around his claws as he landed on top of it. "I will make you regret this day, Ice Queen. NOBODY REJECTS ME! **Touch of Evil!**"

IceDevimon sunk his claws into the massive ball of ice, sending a torrent of darkness flooding into its interior. As the dream world the Digimon had created slowly crumbled into dust, the light emanating from the sphere began to grow dim. The last thing Rika saw before she blacked out was a river of pure black pouring from the cracks in the ice sphere's surface, twisting in mid-air and flying straight towards her like a liquid serpent…

* * *

Digital Field near Le Bonhomme Joli Holiday Village, Loire Valley, France - 8:50pm

Rika gasped in agony as the IceDevimon tore himself brutally from her mind, the gem on his forehead growing dark once again. The fallen angel cast the girl's limp form aside with a contemptuous snarl, laughing coldly as she landed dangerously close to the edge of the plateau and the long fall to the river below.

"How foolish of you…" he sneered, glaring coldly at the unmoving form. "Did you really forget why you created that icy prison around your heart in the first place? Did you forget the loneliness, the fear, the depression you tried to suppress? When you started to break the ice, you gave me access to that darkness. There was more than enough ammunition to use against you. Now you will spend the last few seconds of your pathetically short life drowning in seven long years of repressed misery and pain."

* * *

_"Let him end it!" _a voice hissed in Rika's mind. _"What do you have to live for anyway?"_

_Renamon…_Rika whimpered mentally, causing a second voice to burst out in gales of laughter.

_"She doesn't care about you - nobody does! Your father left you, your mother tried to - if your little pet knew how weak you really are, she'd leave in a second!"_

_That's not true…_

_"Of course she would! You're holding her back with your pathetic morals and beliefs. You're just a weak little girl, and you're going to die here, alone and unloved."_

"No…" Rika whispered weakly, trying and failing to return her depression to its icy tomb.

* * *

Renamon staggered as she was struck by a massive psychic shockwave emanating from the centre of the Digital Field. The vulpine Digimon grinned savagely as she realised she could no longer sense IceDevimon in her link with Rika. _She is breaking free!_

"What was _that_?" Takato asked, rubbing his head and gritting his teeth in pain while Guilmon gave him a concerned look.

_He felt it too? Strange…_ "That was a psychic shockwave. Rika is breaking free from IceDevimon's-"

A deafening cracking noise interrupted Renamon before she could explain further. The boy and two Digimon looked up to see a spider web of fissures expanding across the ice dome in front of them.

"The dome's collapsing!" Takato exclaimed happily.

"Rika's bid for freedom has weakened him! He can't maintain the field!" Renamon shouted over the noise, then gasped as she felt a sudden tide of all-consuming darkness flow down her link with her Tamer.

_What is happening? I have never felt anything like it! I can feel it eating away at my strength…I have to get in there!_

Renamon let out a roar of "**Power Paw!**" and leapt at the wall of ice in a desperate attempt to get to her Tamer before the darkness rendered the kitsune completely useless.

* * *

A loud crash resonated through the icy dome, and IceDevimon turned to see a humanoid silhouette wreathed with blue fire, a large chunk of the frozen wall collapsing behind her.

"**Power Paw!**" Renamon called and leapt at the white figure in front of her.

IceDevimon leapt to the side with a contemptuous sneer and lashed out with his talons. "**Frozen Claw!**"

The attack struck the kitsune in the back, sending her flying through the air. She landed on her feet and turned back to face her foe, ignoring the rivulets of digital blood running down her back.

"Well, well, well - it looks like the so-called Ice Queen's little pet has come to play. I must say, your timing is excellent - I was just starting to get hungry!"

Renamon leapt at the fallen angel and launched into a long series of punches and kicks. Her opponent dodged or blocked them all with ease, then lashed out with another shout of "**Frozen Claw!**", catching the vulpine Digimon in the chest and sending a spray of digital blood into the air. She screamed in agony and fell to her knees, struggling to get back to her feet.

"I heard that Renamon were meant to be some of the most powerful Rookie Digimon around," IceDevimon sneered, pacing in circles around the barely-conscious kitsune. "You appear to be a little off your game today. I wonder what could be…" he muttered and froze as the gem on his forehead flashed briefly white, then grinned and walked over to Rika's still-unmoving form. "The darkness I released from your Tamer's heart is draining your strength? Oh, how delicious! I must say, if I had known how weak being tamed would make me, I never would have bothered with this little fiasco. Tell me, Rika - how does it feel to know that your partner is going to die because of your weakness?"

"No…" the girl whispered, provoking a laugh from the demonic Digimon.

"Oh, yes! Now, I wonder which would be more entertaining? Should I kill your partner and make you watch, or kill you and make your partner watch?"

"Get away from her!" a boy's voice called out as a bright white light caught IceDevimon's eye.

* * *

Seconds earlier…

"Come on, boy, keep digging!" Takato yelled as he struggled to move a massive block of ice with his bare hands.

"I'm digging as fast as I can Takatomon!" Guilmon replied, having a surprising amount of trouble digging through the ice that had made up IceDevimon's ice dome.

When Renamon had used her Power Paw attack to break through the weakened ice dome, a large portion of the wall had collapsed behind her, preventing the boy and his partner from coming to her aid. The pair had been digging relentlessly, trying to break through the remains of the wall for several minutes, but to no avail.

_We'd need industrial-strength drills to break through all this crap in time! _Takato thought despondently. _ Wait a minute…_

"**Digi-Modify! Digmon's Drill Claws activate!**"

Guilmon's claws glowed white and morphed into massive metal drills. The saurian leapt at the wall of ice in front of him with a roar of triumph, breaking through in a matter of seconds, revealing IceDevimon stood over Rika's prone form.

"…kill you and make her watch?" the fallen angel hissed, apparently unaware of the two new arrivals to the battleground.

"Get away from her!" Takato yelled, gripping his D-Arc tightly in his right hand. The boy blinked in surprise as beams of white light tore from the small device's screen.

**GUARDIAN SPIRIT ACQUIRED - DIGIVOLUTION UNLOCKED**

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Guilmon Digivolve to…**"

The red dinosaur was encased in a glowing red data sphere two storeys tall. The sphere shattered after a few seconds, revealing a much larger black-striped red dinosaur with a shaggy white mane, stubby horns and a pair of massive blades extending from his forearms.

"**…Growlmon!**"

The massive Digimon let out an earth-shaking roar and glared at IceDevimon. The fallen angel glared back, his eyes changing from their normal red to an icy blue.

"Finally - an opponent worthy of my time! **Tundra Freeze!**" he snarled, sending twin beams of cold, blue energy from his glowing eyes.

"**Pyro Blaster!**" Growlmon roared, launching an enormous ball of orange fire from his mouth.

The fireball passed straight through the freeze rays, dissipating them and smashing into IceDevimon's chest. The white Digimon shrieked in pain as he was sent flying out over the edge of the cliff, flapping his wings rapidly in a desperate attempt to arrest his fall. After a few seconds he succeeded and flew into the air, hovering several metres away from the edge of the cliff.

"I will make you pay for that, you insolent lizard! **Avalanche Claw!**"

Growlmon shattered most of the frozen missiles with one slash of his claws, ignoring the few that hit him as if they were no more irritating than an insect bite. The dinosaur launched another "**Pyro Blaster!**" at his demonic foe, only for the cold-hearted Digimon to dodge the slow-moving fireball with ease.

"Looks like you're at a disadvantage, my fiery friend," IceDevimon laughed, his eyes glowing blue again. "**Tundra Freeze!**"

The massive Digimon ducked beneath the freeze rays and launched a third fireball, which IceDevimon dodged yet again. The attack gave Growlmon some breathing room, however, which he used to speak with his Tamer.

"Takatomon, use Hyper Speed and Hyper Wing! If I can get another good hit on him, he's toast!"

Takato gulped, remembering the near-disastrous results of his last experience with the Hyper Wing card. "Uh, are you sure boy? I mean, last time you nearly got smashed by BlackGorillamon."

"I know I can handle it - trust me Takatomon!"

_Here goes nothing…_ the boy thought nervously, drawing the two cards. "**Digi-Modify! Hyper Wing activate! Hyper Speed activate!**"

Three pairs of glowing white wings materialised on Growlmon's back and he leapt into the air, flying straight at IceDevimon with surprising speed. The dinosaur slammed his fist into the fallen angel's stomach, stunning him and leaving him open to attack. The larger Digimon's arm blades began to glow blue and crackle with electricity as he announced his second special attack.

"**Dragon Slash!**"

* * *

IceDevimon screamed in agony as the plasma-coated blades bit deep into his torso, slicing him in two. _NO! I cannot be defeated!_ Time seemed to slow almost to a standstill as the fallen angel began disintegrating into free-floating data. As he turned his cold gaze upon Rika's catatonic form, an idea began to form in the demonic Digimon's mind.

"**Avalanche…Claw…**" he croaked, sending a storm of icicles roaring past his draconic foe straight at the defenseless redhead.

The last thing IceDevimon heard before oblivion claimed him was Takato screaming the girl's name as the area around her exploded in a massive cloud of dust and debris.

* * *

Rika screamed as she felt the ground give way beneath her, shocking her from her catatonic state. The redhead began the long fall to the ground below, only to be stopped as something grabbed hold of her right wrist, nearly wrenching her arm from its socket.

"I've got you, Rika!" Takato's voice called down to her, and she looked up to see the goggle-wearing Tamer holding on to her arm with both hands. The boy began to pull her slowly back up to safety, his face turning purple with the effort. He fell backwards as he finally managed to haul the girl back over the edge of the cliff, and let out a yelp of surprise when she gripped him in a crushing hug, buried her face in his shoulder and began sobbing softly.

_"What are you doing?" _a dark voice groaned in Rika's head. _"Look at yourself - sobbing like some Damsel in Distress! You're pathetic!"_

_"Well done, 'Ice Queen', now you look like a complete wimp!"_

_"Does 'ickle baby Rika need a hug? Like anybody would ever hug you! Gogglehead's gonna leave you just like everyone else…"_

Rika was starting to believe the dark voices, and began sobbing all the harder. She was about to let go of Takato, deciding to save him the trouble of breaking the embrace himself…

…And was thus pleasantly surprised when the brown-haired boy wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.

"Sshh…it's okay, Rika. He's gone now, we got him. You're safe now!" he whispered softly, trying not to allow any of the pain the redhead's death-grip was causing him into his voice.

_"He doesn't really care! He's just…"_

Rika blocked the dark voices from her mind, their hold over her broken by an act of basic compassion from a fellow human being. The girl resumed her fight against the darkness inside her, pushing a greatly-diminished version of it back inch by inch into its frozen prison once again. After several long minutes sobbing in her fellow Tamer's arms, Rika finally managed to get control of herself and pushed the boy gently away, rising shakily to her feet as Guilmon de-digivolved in a flare of white light.

"Rika, are you…?" Takato asked tentatively.

"I'm fine," she replied, much more sharply than she had intended. The redhead took a deep breath and spoke again, this time much more softly. "I'm okay, I just needed to…Renamon!"

The Tamer noticed her wounded partner and ran to her side. With a muttered curse, she swiped a Seed of Health card, restoring some of the kitsune's energy.

"Renamon, are you okay?" she asked worriedly, helping the vulpine Digimon to her feet.

"It is I…who should be asking…you that question…" Renamon gasped, leaning heavily on her Tamer and switching to telepathic conversation. _"I could feel…what he was doing to you…what he made you watch…the darkness…through our link. Are you…?"_

_"I'll be fine. Everything's back where it belongs now," _Rika replied and swiped a second Seed of Health card.

The kitsune gave her an odd look at this last statement, not quite understanding what her Tamer was talking about. With a shrug, she decided to drop it for now and ask later if the opportunity arose.

"Uh, Rika?" Takato asked as he finished congratulating Guilmon. "I think we should be getting back. Steph and Cam can only cover for us for so long."

"Go on without me, I just need…I need some time to think," the redhead replied and the boy nodded, turned and started to walk away slowly. "Hey, Gogglehead? If you _ever_ tell _anyone_ about my little-"

"Don't worry," the brown-haired Tamer interrupted with a reassuring smile. "I won't."

Takato turned and started walking again, trying to think of an excuse for being out so late.

"Takato?" Rika called timidly, causing the boy to stop and turn once again. "Thanks…"

"Hey, what are friends for?" he replied with another smile and started the long walk back to Guilmon's hideout.

_He called me his friend…_ Rika thought, not knowing how to reply to the boy's casual quip. _I have…friends?

* * *

_

The last two full days of the trip went much more smoothly than the preceding five. There were no Digimon attacks, no strange feelings, no half-glimpsed shadows and no emotional breakdowns. During these two days, Takato and his friends noticed some small but quite serious changes in Rika's attitude towards them. While she was far from being outright friendly, the redhead began treating the three children with significantly less hostility and stopped acting as though merely being in the same room as them was a great chore. Once, she even cracked a tiny smile at one of Cam's better jokes. Rika did, however, get incredibly frustrated very quickly at the fact that Takato, Steph and even Cam acted like they were treading on eggshells around her. While the two non-Tamers didn't know about her minor breakdown, they did know that her experience with IceDevimon had been…traumatic. Cam was, surprisingly, the worst of the three, asking Rika if she was okay or if she needed anything every three seconds and constantly watching over her like some Z-list guardian angel (minus the wings, halo, good looks, perfect teeth, general 'goodness' and any concept of personal hygiene). _And I thought he was annoying when he was trying to be funny…_

When Friday morning came around at last, Rika couldn't have been happier. The night before, as she had dialled her home number for her nightly conversation with her grandmother, the girl had been pleasantly surprised when her mother picked up the phone. Apparently Rumiko had come back from London a day early to make sure she would be there to greet her "darling little angel". Not even that little remark could dampen the redhead's spirits, and when she fell asleep on the long journey home, she did so with a small smile on her face. When the coach finally pulled up outside Redcliff Mount at 11:45pm, Rika found herself enveloped in one of her mother's bone-crushing hugs. For the first time in more years than she cared to remember, the girl returned the hug in kind.


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

This chapter is just a little random friendship thing I wrote to try and show Rika integrating into the group.

Another note on speech formatting: _["This is somebody talking from the other end of a phone."]  
_

_"This is telepathic conversation."_

* * *

**Chapter Nine: The Colour of the Rain**

Monday 4th October - 2:46pm

Redcliff Mount High School

Takato let out a long yawn as he trudged out of one of Redcliff Mount's many side entrances. The boy still hadn't recovered from the loss of sleep incurred by the unholy combination of two eighteen-hour coach journeys in one week and six nights of Cam's earth-shaking snoring, and had actually nodded off halfway through last period Maths. Fortunately, the class' normal teacher Mr. Maddox was ill and they had been landed with a substitute teacher who was too stupid to notice.

"Wow, Takato, you really need to get some sleep," Henry noted. "If Mr. Maddox catches you falling asleep in class he'll eat you alive!"

"I know, but I'm just so tired," the brown-haired boy replied while trying to stifle another yawn. "And Maths is so boring - it works better than counting sheep!"

"You have a point there," Henry chuckled. "Hey, do you wanna come round to my place for a bit? We could try and finish that mission on Halo 3."

"Sounds great, but I might not be up to Legendary mode," the Japanese boy laughed as the pair changed course, walking past the park towards Henry's house. "Oh, I just remembered - it's your birthday this Friday, right? Can you give me any clues for a present?"

"I really have no idea…" the blue-haired Tamer grinned sheepishly. "I never know what to ask for - it drives my parents mad. Oh, that reminds me - my dad managed to get tickets to see Sonata Arctica at Sheffield Arena on Friday evening. You interested?"

Takato stopped in his tracks and gave his friend a look of open-mouthed wonderment. "Sonata…Arctica…live in concert?" he asked slowly, then pinched himself when Henry nodded. "WOOHOO!"

Henry grinned as his fellow Tamer began leaping in the air and cheering, his earlier exhaustion forgotten. When the boy finally calmed down enough to make coherent conversation, he turned to his half-Chinese friend and gave him an exuberant grin.

"And I thought _I_ was meant to give _you _a present!"

"Yeah, well…" Henry shrugged and returned the grin.

"So, who else is going?"

"So far it's you, me, my sister Jaarin, my dad, Cam and Steph. There's still one more ticket and I'm not sure who to ask," the boy replied as he veered towards the newsagent's up ahead. "Mind if we head into the shop? I've got cravings for a Mars bar."

"Go ahead. Actually, I might get one too…" Takato mumbled as he dug through his pocket for some spare change. "Hey, I just had an idea - why don't you invite Rika?"

Henry nodded thoughtfully. "That's a pretty good idea. It'd be the perfect way to say sorry for Gargomon shooting her."

"You know, I don't think she's holding a grudge over that."

"I know, Steph told me what she said on the coach, but I still feel bad. Oh, darn it…do we even know if she _likes_ Sonata Arctica?"

"Uh, I actually have no idea," the brown-haired Tamer replied and frowned. "How can we not know what music she likes? I mean, she's always listening to something on her iPhone."

"Haven't you ever read a song title over her shoulder or something?" the blue-haired Tamer asked as they paid for their chocolate bars and headed for the door.

"I saw a couple of names but I didn't recognize them. We should just ask Rika if she likes them or not."

"Yeah, you're right. She'll probably just turn us down anyway - what are the odds she's even heard of Sonata Arctica?"

As the two Tamers stepped out of the shop a girl's voice suddenly began to sing slowly and beautifully behind them. The boys nearly jumped out of their skins and turned around to discover the identity of the singer.

_"I'd give it all for a heart._

_If I was a king, I would give away my kingdom._

_Treasures and crowns wouldn't mean a thing_

_If I only had a heart._

_If I only had a heart!"_

Takato and Henry stood there in open-mouthed shock for several long seconds after the girl had finished singing. Eventually, Takato broke the silence by stammering her name in disbelief.

"R-Rika?"

* * *

"R-Rika?"

The redhead mentally cursed herself. _What the hell made me do that? I __**never**__ sing in front of anyone else - not even Renamon! So why did I…and why 'Kingdom for a Heart'?_

"Rika, that was…" Henry began, unable to find the words to describe his fellow Tamer's talent. "That was…whoa…"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it!" she growled in reply, causing both Takato and Henry to blink in surprise and confusion.

_If I had a voice like that…_ the brown-haired Tamer thought and shook his head thoughtfully. "Uh, why not?"

"Because I don't like to sing for anybody but myself. Now, why did you want to know if I liked Sonata Arctica?"

"Uh, well, it's my birthday this Friday and my dad managed to get tickets to see them in Sheffield. I was wondering if you wanted to come."

A confused expression passed across Rika's face and was soon replaced by an angry one. "You're just inviting me because of what happened with Gargomon, aren't you?"

"What? No! Well, maybe a little…" Henry admitted, then winced at the hurt look that flickered briefly in the girl's eyes. "But only a little! Look, you know how I tend to beat myself up over things like Gargomon, even when other people forgive me."

"Really? I hadn't noticed…" she replied sarcastically.

"Well, what I want to say is…look, even if the Gargomon thing didn't happen I would have invited you. It's just that in my head, this is a way of apologizing."

The redhead looked slightly less angry at this part. "You…you'd really have invited me anyway?"

"Well, yeah. I don't have many other friends, you know."

_That damn word again…_ Rika thought with a mixture of irritation and…satisfaction? "In that case…I'll come. Where do you live and what time should I be at your house for?"

"Great! My dad is still working out the times, so I'll tell you tomorrow in History. My address is…hold on a sec…" the blue-haired boy muttered as he rummaged through his bag for a pen and some paper. "Here we are! Thirty-four…Lunar…Road. You know where that is, right?"

"Yeah, my sensei lives on the same street," she replied, taking the small sheet of paper and stuffing it in her pocket.

"You mean Sensei Owen? He's my sensei too! How come I've never seen you in the lesson?"

"I don't go to his Tai Chi lessons, I do the Mixed Martial Arts class. I prefer learning a bunch of different fighting styles and using them to make my own."

"That's a pretty good way to do it," Henry nodded and looked thoughtful. "I don't really do it for the fighting side of it, though. I use it more as a way to build discipline and concentration. Of course, the fighting side is pretty useful too."

"Especially with our line of work," Rika joked. "Anyway, I gotta get going - my grandma needs some stuff for dinner tonight. See you later Brainiac, Gogglehead." She turned and began to walk into the shop, but stopped and looked back over her shoulder with a small smile. "And thanks for the invite."

As the shop door closed behind the redhead, Henry and Takato stood there in silence for a few seconds. Once again, it was Takato who spoke up.

"Did Rika just…smile at us?"

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 3:05pm

"Grandma, I'm home!" Rika called as she closed the door behind her and made her way to the living room.

"Good afternoon, dear," Seiko replied from her seat on the living room's large leather armchair. "You seem oddly cheerful today. Did you have a good day at school?"

"It was okay, kinda boring as always. You remember Henry Wong, right?"

"Yes, wasn't he one of the boys who stood up for you in that fight?"

"Yeah, that's him. Anyway, it's his birthday on Friday and he invited me to a concert with a few other people. Can I go?"

"What time will you be leaving?"

"I don't know yet, we're sorting out the details tomorrow."

"Well, since it's not a school night I don't have a problem wi-"

"Thanks grandma!" the redhead exclaimed with a small smile and made a break for the stairs.

"But you'll still need to ask your mother! Fridays evenings _are _usually your mother-daughter time." the older woman called after her granddaughter.

_Because that always goes __**so**__ well. Ah, crap…_ "Okay, grandma!"

Rika walked into her bedroom and slumped face-down on her futon with a soft groan. Viximon let out a small yelp as the girl landed on top of her and quickly wriggled out from under her.

_"Oops, sorry Viximon!"_ the redhead sent and scratched behind the small fox's ears apologetically.

_"Do not worry, I am uninjured," _Viximon replied with a small frown of confusion. _"Rika…you seem oddly troubled by the prospect of asking your mother's permission to go to this 'concert'. Do you think she will say no?"_

_"It's not that I think she'll say no, it's just that she'll make some stupid comment like 'Ooh, so Rika got invited to a party by a boy? My little girl is finally growing up!' I'd rather not have to put up with that."_

_"That is…understandable."

* * *

_

Tuesday 5th October - 2:58pm

Nonaka Residence

_["Ooh, my little angel got invited to a party by a boy! You're finally growing up!"]_

Rika suppressed an angry growl as her mother ranted down the telephone at her. She could just imagine the expression on the woman's face - dreamy eyes, slack-jawed smile, right hand twirling her long blonde hair absent-mindedly.

"Mum! He did invite two other girls besides me, you know!" the redhead replied, leaving out the fact that one of the other girls was his sister. "And it's not a party - it's a concert and a bite to eat."

_["Oh, it's close enough! Anyway, I have to go now sweetie. I'll talk to you later!"]_

"Bye," Rika said and rolled her eyes as she put down the phone. _"I guess that could have been worse."_

_"Yes, at least she didn't try and give you tips on 'fashion'. I doubt that I will ever understand that particular human concept."_

_"You and me both, Renamon."_

The pair's mental conversation was interrupted by a loud beeping emanating from Rika's D-Arc. The Tamer glanced at the screen and cracked a feral grin as she saw that the Bio-emergence was nearby.

"Grandma, I'm going out for a while!" she called as she ran for the door.

"Okay dear, be back by five-thirty."

* * *

Kirkfield Park - 3:05pm

Rika was disappointed to discover that Takato and Guilmon had not only beaten her to the emergence site, but also defeated the emerging Digimon in a matter of seconds. As the red dinosaur finished absorbing his fallen opponent's data, the redhead called out to his Tamer.

"Hey, Gogglehead! What did I miss?"

"Oh, hey Rika!" the brown-haired boy replied, walking towards the girl. "It was nothing much, just a Goblimon."

"Damn, I was hoping for some exercise."

"You really didn't miss much - this guy was so weak you probably could have taken him without Renamon!"

Rika narrowed her eyes in mock anger. "Are you calling me weak?"

"Ah, no! I mean yes! I mean…"

"Oh, cool it Goggles I'm just messing with you. You are so easy…" the girl chuckled, much to the relief of Takato. "Compared to Digimon all humans are pretty weak. A major-league martial artist might be able to beat an average Rookie, but other than that a human would be screwed."

"Oh, okay…Hey, have you got Henry his birthday present yet?"

"Uh, no…" she replied, mentally cursing herself. _Damn it! I totally forgot I was meant to get him a present._

"Well, do you wanna go down into town now and see if we can find him something? Henry's at Tai Chi until about five, so this is probably our best chance."

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea."

"Great! I need to take Guilmon back to his hideout and pick up some money from my place first, but the bakery's on the way to town anyway."

"Alright, let's get going."

* * *

Kirkfield Town Centre - 3:30pm

Takato sighed as he tried to think of somewhere to get a gift for Henry. Kirkfield wasn't really known for being a centre for shopping (or anything else for that matter). _Maybe we should have caught the bus into Bradford or something…_

"Uh, Gogglehead? Do you have _any_ idea where we can get him something?" an exasperated Rika asked.

"We could try Blockbuster, I guess. They might have something in the pre-owned games section we could afford."

The redhead nodded her agreement and the two Tamers made their way towards the blue-painted shop. Once inside, Takato veered confidently towards the back of the room, Rika following him uncertainly. They reached a series of shelves marked "PRE-OWNED" in big black letters, laden with games for every console imaginable.

"Okay, let's have a look here…" Takato mumbled to himself as he browsed through the ample selection of games. "He's already got that one…that's terrible…got it…got it…wrong console…terrible…"

The boy continued in this fashion for over a minute, finding fault with every game he came across. Rika scanned the shelves much quicker than her goggle-wearing friend, and quickly spotted an excellent candidate.

"Hey, Goggles, what about this one?" she asked, reaching out and grabbing the game.

"Armored Core For Answer? Weird name," he remarked as he took the game from the girl, reading the back of the case. "Customization, military robot technology, hundreds of parts and weapons…sounds pretty cool!"

"It is. I managed to burn out my copy of the game not long before I left Japan. It can be pretty hard, but it's fun as hell."

"Sweet. Well, that's your present sorted, now what should I get him…?"

Takato eventually tired of rifling through the pre-owned games section, instead heading for the pre-owned DVD section. He quickly spotted a DVD box set of an obscure sci-fi show Henry liked and immediately tried to buy it, only to get into a long argument with the cashier over whether the two Tamers were twelve years old or not. The argument was only resolved when Henry's older sister Jaarin happened to walk into the shop. The fourteen-year-old ended up buying the items for the two children.

"Well, that was fun," the brown-haired boy said sarcastically after he and Rika had given Jaarin their thanks. "Now we need to buy him a card…hope we don't get ID'd for that!"

"Wait, we need to get him a card _and _a present?" a confused Rika asked.

"Uh, yeah of course. Why, is that not how they do it in Japan?"

The redhead looked uncomfortable for a second and glanced away before she answered. "I don't know."

"You don't know? How can you not know?"

"Because I've never been invited to a birthday party before," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh," Takato mumbled, wincing in sympathy. "Sorry."

"Don't be. Almost all the people I knew back in Japan were self-obsessed psychopaths. If any of them had ever invited me, it would only have been as a part of some elaborate plot to humiliate me."

"Oh…" the Tamer said again, not knowing how to respond. "Wait, here's the card shop!"

_Phew!_ he sighed mentally, grateful for the distraction. _That was turning into an awkward silence.

* * *

_

The next two days were mostly quiet, without a single Bio-emergence disturbing the peace. Takato and Henry were worried by the lack of activity, fearing that a Digimon could emerge on Henry's Birthday while they were too busy to fight back. Rika quickly calmed their fears when she told them that she was leaving Renamon behind and that she and Guilmon would be able to detect and quickly eliminate any emerging Digimon. As the end of the week drew closer, even Rika found herself growing more and more excited about the upcoming concert.

* * *

Friday 8th October - 4pm

Outside the Wong Residence

"3…2…1…and, Rika's late!" Cam sighed and shook his head. "At least it's not Takato for once…"

"Hey!" the brown-haired Tamer exclaimed in mock outrage. "Oh, wait, there she is!"

Sure enough, the redhead was walking quickly up the street towards them. She was wearing her usual jeans and trainers, with her 'Broken Heart' T-shirt swapped out for a black T-shirt with a picture of a howling wolf on a wooded hill. The words 'Sonata Arctica' and 'The Last Amazing Greys' were emblazoned above and below the picture respectively.

"Happy birthday Brainiac! Sorry I'm late, the clock in my room shorted out," she apologized and handed him the poorly-wrapped video game.

"No problem," Henry replied with a grin. "We're still waiting on Jaarin anyway. I still don't know how she manages to take so long choosing a shirt."

"She inherited that trait from your mother," an older Chinese man chuckled from the house's doorway. He looked to be in his early forties, with hair a couple of shades lighter than Henry's. "I'll go see what's keeping her."

As Mr. Wong wandered back into the two-storey detached house, Steph turned to Rika with a conspiratorial look. "So, what were you up against?"

The red-haired Tamer sighed and shot a glare at Takato. "I guess this means Goggles told you our secret code?"

"Uh, I might have let it slip…" he mumbled and grinned sheepishly. The code phrase was 'the clock in my room', and had been arranged by Rika as a way for the Tamers to inform each other of Digimon activity without retreating for a suspicious-looking private conversation.

"Moron. Anyway, it was a BlackAgumon. Renamon managed to take him down in seconds."

"It's probably a good thing that something Bio-emerged this early," Henry mused, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "At least this way nothing's likely to appear while we're at the concert."

"Yeah, and even if something does happen, Renamon and Guilmon are still around to kick some…" Cam started to say, trailing off as Jaarin and Mr. Wong emerged from the house.

"Right, that's everyone!" the man said and began herding the children towards a dark green seven-seater people carrier. "Seatbelts on, everyone. Try and get comfortable - it's going to be a long drive."

* * *

The group arrived at their destination - an excellent Italian restaurant in Sheffield city centre - at about 5:30pm. They each enjoyed a beautiful meal, sang 'Happy Birthday' and ate cake. When they had finished the cake, Henry opened his presents - the video game from Rika, the DVD from Takato, a Blind Guardian album from Cam and a Chinese-style coiled dragon neck-chain from Steph.

They arrived at Sheffield Arena at 7:30pm, half an hour before the concert was due to start. Mr. Wong had managed, through his connections with the Arena's owners, to get them all front row seats. When the band finally appeared on stage and began to play, Rika felt an odd sensation deep within her chest. As they moved onto playing 'Wolf and Raven', the redhead looked around at the smiling faces of her friends and finally recognized the feeling.

She was happy.


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

Heh, I know I told people these three chapters would be uploaded on Wednesday but I just wanted to get them out of the way. 11 + 12 are, in my opinion, far from my best, but were a necessary part of the story. The next few chapters are going to be a bit shorter than usual (mostly a similar length to Chapter 9, give or take a few hundred words or so). Please keep up the reviewing.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Seppuku**

Sunday 10th October - 3:15pm

Kirkfield Park

"**Dragon Wheel!**" Kyubimon called as she was wreathed in blue flames, taking the shape of a fiery dragon and launching herself at her opponent.

"**Shogun Sword!**" Musyamon replied, launching a similar dragon made from orange flames from his Shiratori-maru sword.

"Kyubimon!" Rika cried as her partner collided with the attack in mid-air and was sent crashing to the ground.

"Is that all you've got?" the grey-skinned samurai chuckled darkly and began pacing slowly across the grassy field towards the fallen kitsune.

_"He shouldn't be this powerful!"_ the redhead complained telepathically, grabbing a Seed of Health card and swiping it. _"He's deflected every attack we threw at him! What the hell is going on?"_

_"It is not him that is unusually powerful, it is I that is unusually weak. His initial surprise attack did more damage than I first thought," _Kyubimon explained as blue flames gathered around the tips of her nine tails. "**Fox Tail Inferno!**"

Musyamon let out a growl of irritation as the fireballs scorched his leathery skin and armour. With a shouted battle cry, he leapt at his vulpine attacker and launched into an intricate series of slashes with his wickedly sharp sword. Kyubimon dodged the first few attacks with some difficulty, but screamed and collapsed as her opponent feinted to her left, quickly redirecting the blade to cut at her right foreleg.

"You're pathetic," the samurai growled and raised his weapon for the killing blow.

_Think, Nonaka THINK! There's got to be __**something**__ you can…_ "**Digi-Modify! Rock Armour activate!**"

An agonising scraping noise echoed throughout the Digital Field as Musyamon's blade glanced off of the now-petrified kitsune. He span and glared at the fox's Tamer, orange flames coalescing around his sword.

"**Shogun Sword!**"

Rika leapt to her right, barely dodging the fiery dragon-shaped projectile as it detonated against the ground. While she was struggling to get up, the samurai leapt forwards, raising his blade once again.

"They say that when a human dies, their body does not disintegrate into data. We're about to find out if that's true, aren't we?"

"Go to hell!" the girl spat, glaring at her attacker defiantly.

"You first. _Kiri sute gomen_…" he replied sarcastically and slashed downward, Rika raising her left arm in a futile attempt to block the attack.

* * *

Growlmon roared in fury as he shoulder barged Musyamon, knocking him off balance and deflecting his blade to the side. As his partner grappled with the Samurai, Takato spared a quick glance at Rika. The redhead seemed to be unhurt, but her attacker's blade had managed to just barely nick the outside of her left arm, cutting through her red cloth wristband and leaving a shallow scratch several inches long. She also seemed to be in shock, as she was currently staring into space absent-mindedly.

"Rika, get out of there!" the boy yelled, snapping the girl out of her reverie. She scrambled to her feet and ran to her partner's side, gently placing her right hand on the stony kitsune's snout.

"Vile lizard!" Musyamon roared, drawing Takato's attention back to the fight. "You will die for your insolence! **Ninja Blade!**"

Growlmon yelped as the flaming sword struck him in the ribs and he leapt back, energizing his arm blades. "**Dragon Slash!**"

The samurai parried the twin blades expertly, counter-attacking with his own blade at the dinosaur's face. Growlmon snarled as a large gash was opened on his snout, and launched into a long series of "**Dragon Slash!**" attacks, each one being blocked or dodged by his demonic opponent.

"Takatomon, this isn't working…" the massive saurian growled, panting with exhaustion. "He's too fast - I can't get through his defences!"

"I'm working on it…" the goggle-wearing Tamer replied as he rifled through his deck, letting out a small cheer when he found a Hyper Speed card. _Or, maybe…_ he thought with a grin as he picked up the card and spotted what lay beneath it.

"**Digi-Modify! Sangloupmon's Shadow-Walking activate!**"

"**Black Mind!**" Growlmon snarled, sinking quickly into his own shadow.

"What the…?" Musyamon exclaimed as his blade bit through the air where his opponent had been stood a second before. "Get back here you coward!"

"As you wish…" a voice growled in an amused tone, seeming to come from all around the samurai. "**Dragon Slash!**"

Musyamon screamed in agony as Growlmon emerged from his shadow and slashed his energized arm blades at the demonic warior's legs. The blades bit into soft, unarmoured flesh and severed both legs at the knees, leaving the samurai lying in a pool of his own digital blood.

"I am…defeated…by…a mere beast? I never…would have guessed…" he chuckled as he burst into data and was absorbed by the exhausted Growlmon, who promptly de-digivolved and slumped on the ground.

"Takatomon…I need a nap…" Guilmon complained as he climbed slowly to his feet.

"After that fight, you've earned it!" Takato chuckled and patted him on the nose before walking over to Rika. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine," the redhead replied as the rock around her partner disappeared and she de-digivolved to Renamon. "He didn't even scratch me. Thanks."

"Uh, that's not exactly true," he said and pointed to the girl's left arm, a look of confusion passing across the boy's face as he noticed something on her wrist.

"What do you…?" Rika started to say, trailing off as she saw that she had been cut.

She turned and was about to say something to the boy when she noticed his odd look. Following his gaze back to her wrist, the redhead's eyes widened as she realized what he was staring at.

Running horizontally across her left wrist was a long, ragged scar.

"I…I…" Rika stammered and clutched her wrist to her chest, hiding the scar. Takato looked up into her eyes and was shocked by the fear he saw in them.

"Rika, are y-"

The boy never got the chance to finish his sentence, as the redhead suddenly ran off into the woods back towards her house, leaving her wounded partner behind.

"Rika, wait!" Takato called, starting to run after her but stopping when he heard a pained groan behind him. "Renamon, are you okay?"

"I will be fine," she muttered, gazing into the forest in the direction of her fleeing Tamer. "Why did Rika run away?"

Takato winced at the kitsune's accusatory tone. "I don't know! I mean, I might have some idea…"

"What. Did. You. Do."

"I didn't do anything! One of Rika's wristbands got cut off in the fight, and she had this scar on her wrist. She saw me looking at it and just ran."

"Scar…?" the kitsune mumbled in confusion.

"Yeah, on her left wrist. I wonder why she was so freaked out…"

"If she wishes us to know, she will tell us."

_Did she say 'us'?_ "Wait, you don't know either?"

Renamon mentally cursed herself for the slip of the tongue and activated her _Kohenkyo_ ability, leaving behind a very confused Takato and a completely oblivious Guilmon. The red dinosaur was currently chasing a butterfly, but stopped when he noticed the thoughtful expression on his Tamer's face.

"Takatomon?" the saurian called, walking over to the boy and nudging him with his snout. "Terriermon says you'll hurt yourself if you think too hard."

"What? Oh, um…I think he was just joking when he said that, boy. Well, joking and insulting me…anyway, let's get you home."

As Takato led his childlike partner home, he found his thoughts being drawn repeatedly towards Rika's scar. _Why would Rika be so freaked out? And why did she have a scar on her wrist. I thought the only way you could get a scar like that was…unless she…no, she wouldn't have…would she?_

_Would Rika really try to kill herself?

* * *

_

Nonaka Residence - 3:29pm

"Rika, is that you?" Seiko called from the kitchen as she heard the door slam.

"Yeah, it's me," the redhead called as she ran towards her room.

"You're home early - everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Rika lied, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. "Brainiac and Goggles were busy so I thought I'd come home early."

"Okay," the woman replied, completely unconvinced by her granddaughter's performance. "Your mother should be home in about an hour and dinner will be ready at six."

"'Kay, thanks."

Now Seiko knew something was wrong. Normally Rika would have asked what was for dinner and probably asked where her mother was as well. _I know she doesn't like it when she feels like I'm prying…well, if it's anything major, she'll tell me.

* * *

_

Rika slammed her bedroom door, grabbed a spare wristband from her wardrobe and put it on. The redhead slumped face-down onto her futon and let out a muffled groan of despair. After about a minute, Renamon somersaulted into the room through the open window, landing right beside the girl.

The kitsune reached out with her mind to make a telepathic connection, her eyes widening when she encountered a mental barrier. _She's blocking me! Why would she…?_

"Rika?" Renamon whispered tentatively. "Rika, what is the matter? Please talk to me."

The girl's only answer was a muffled groan. The kitsune wasn't deterred, and kept asking the girl the same question over and over again for several minutes. Eventually, she settled for merely placing a comforting hand on her Tamer's shoulder and sitting there with her for a while.

* * *

5:59pm

"Rika, dinner's ready!" Seiko's voice called from the kitchen.

The redhead rolled off of her futon and climbed to her feet, not even acknowledging Renamon. Like a robot, she plodded down the stairs and sat down at the large, circular dining room table, mumbling a quick greeting to her mother and a thanks to her grandmother as the woman placed a plate full of sweet and sour chicken in front of her. The family ate in relative silence, with Seiko or Rumiko occasionally asking the younger Nonaka questions about her day, receiving little more than one-word answers in reply. Even Rumiko could tell that there was something wrong with the girl, and eventually decided to try cheering her up. Unfortunately, thanks to the deadly combination of the copious amount of sake she had drunk and her own social ineptitude, she managed to choose completely the wrong approach.

"So, Rika, I was talking to one of my photographers, Mr. Rutherford - he's been _dying _to meet you," the blonde-haired woman began cheerfully, failing to notice Rika's white-knuckled grip on her cutlery or the warning glare from her mother. "He said that he might be able to fit you in for a camera test next week. I'll be taking you out of school for a couple of days to go to London with me. Won't that be fun?"

"No."

"What?" the woman gasped, shocked by her daughter's cold tone as much as by what she had said. "Why on earth wouldn't you want to miss school to go to a camera test? Most people would kill to have opportunities like this!"

"Because I don't want to be a model!" Rika shouted, glaring at her mother.

"Don't you shout at me, young lady!" Rumiko snapped in reply, matching her daughter's glare with one of her own before continuing in a patronising tone. "Well, why don't you come and see what it's like? Who knows, you might enjoy it, and this way we can make sure the right people know your name. Besides, you'll probably change your mind later and decide you _do _want to be a model. Girls your age are like that."

The rage on Rika's face had to be seen to be believed. Unfortunately, Rumiko missed it, thanks to her having leaned back and closed her eyes as she was talking in the stereotypical manner of arrogant people everywhere.

"I _know _I don't like it. You dragged me to dozens of the stupid things back in Japan," she growled and stood up, her voice rising as she continued to talk. "And I'll _NEVER _change my mind, because I am _NEVER_ going to turn into a shallow, self-obsessed bimbo like _YOU_!"

The blonde-haired woman's eyes snapped open and she stood up too, meeting the girl's furious glare and ignoring Seiko's attempts to defuse the situation. "How _dare _you speak to me like that? When I was your age, my father would have had my head for saying something like that! Oh, why do I even bother? It's times like this I wish I'd never even _had _a child!"

Rika flinched as her mother's words struck her like a physical blow, unlocking all those secret fears she had harboured for so many years. The girl felt something literally snap inside of her as she screamed her next words.

"Well maybe if you didn't spread your legs for every man that walked through the d-"

**CRACK!

* * *

**

Rika staggered back as her mother's hand lashed out, slapping her across the right cheek. Rumiko instantly knew that she had made a terrible mistake when she saw the fear in the girl's eyes.

_Oh, kami…what have I done? After what that slimeball put her through…and I…I…_

"Rika, I'm sorry…" the woman began, taking a step towards her daughter.

"Stay away from me!" Rika spat in reply, shoving her out of the way and running for the kitchen.

"Rika, wait!" Seiko called as the back door slammed loudly, signalling the girl's escape into the night. The older woman turned to her daughter with a furious look. "That is probably _the _most stupid thing you have _ever _done!"

"I…How could I…after Yamato and…I'm a horrible mother!" the blonde-haired woman sobbed, breaking down in tears and running for her bedroom.

* * *

Renamon saw all of this from her vantage point in the forest outside. A cold fury swept through the kitsune and she had to fight to stop herself from bursting into the house.

_Rumiko Nonaka…Rika's mother or not, if you __**ever**__ lay a hand on her again…

* * *

_

Outside Bhakram Family Newsagents and Convenience Store, Near Kirkfield Park - 7:20pm

Takato cheerfully said goodbye to the nice old lady at the till as he walked out of the shop, a bag of peanuts and a packet of Doritos in his hand. The boy's father had sent him out to the shop to pick up the items as punishment for burning a batch of bread the previous day.

_At least it wasn't mum who found the bread…_ he thought ruefully. _Then she'd probably have made me walk all the way to Gomersal and get it from the shop there. And that is one steep hill to walk in the dark…_

As he was walking past the park, something caught the Tamer's eye and he stopped, gazing into the patch of trees at the edge of the park. He blinked in surprise when he realized that he had seen Rika, and quickly crossed the road and started walking towards her.

_What is she doing just sat out here? And she looks pretty messed up…I wonder if I should ask her about what happened earlier?_

"Rika!" he called and waved, nearly dropping the bag of peanuts. "You okay? What are you doing just sat in the park?"

"What do you want Gogglehead?" she spat in reply, turning her head to the right and not looking at him as she spoke.

"Um, well, I was kind of worried about you after you ran off earlier. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, her voice quivering slightly.

"Look, uh…what was all that about? I mean, if you don't want to tell me you don't have t-"

"You saw the scar."

"Um, yeah. So?" Takato replied, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

"And you know how it got there."

"I…I can make a pretty good guess, yeah."

"_That _is why. I thought I might as well make it easy for you and run off myself - save you the trouble."

"Save me the trouble? What are you…?" he started to say, a pained look passing across his face as he realized what the girl was saying. "You really think I'd just ditch you as a friend? Stop hanging out with you just because you had some problems in the past?"

Rika blinked at the boy's tone. She had expected mockery or an uncomfortable silence - maybe, in the very best case scenario, anger. But Takato just sounded…hurt.

"Who'd want to hang out with a psycho like me?" the redhead asked rhetorically, blinking rapidly to stop the tears from flowing.

"I would," her fellow Tamer replied and looked her straight in the eye. "I don't care about what you might or might not have done - you're my friend, and friends stick together no matter what! They don't abandon each other - they help each other through whatever trouble they run into."

The pair sat in silence for a minute or so, before Rika broke the silence with a dry chuckle.

"Goggles…that has got to be the cheesiest thing I have _ever _heard."

Takato turned and noticed the tiny smile on her face. "It cheered you up, didn't it?"

"Whatever. I need to get home," the girl muttered, keeping the right side of her face turned away from the boy just in case there was still a mark where her mother had slapped her.

"Yeah, me too. And Rika?" the brown-haired boy called as his friend started walking away. "You might want to try talking to somebody about it. I don't mean me or anything, but at least talk to Renamon."

"I…thanks Goggles."

* * *

When Rika got home, she entered through the back door and headed straight for her room, ignoring her mother and grandmother's attempts to talk to her. She closed the door and slumped onto her futon, rolling onto her back and reaching out to Renamon mentally. The kitsune phased into existence beside her and knelt down, placing a comforting paw on the girl's shoulder.

_"I'm ready to talk now, Renamon."

* * *

_

_"My mum left Japan the day after my twelfth birthday. When she left I was…my head was pretty messed up. I kept thinking that she was…that she wasn't going to come back, that she didn't love me any more."_

The girl took a deep, calming breath before she continued with her recollection.

_"It was like this…crushing darkness. It all built up and built up until…a couple of weeks after she left, I…" _Rika trailed off as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. _"I tried to kill myself."_

Renamon blinked in confusion, having difficulty comprehending the depths of depression that could have led to such an action.

_"I tried to cut my wrists, but I screwed it up. Grandma came home early and found me passed out in my room. She called an ambulance and they managed to 'save' me."_

_"Rika…"_ the kitsune sighed mentally, sending waves of compassion and sympathy down their mental bond. _"When IceDevimon took you and went into your mind…the darkness I felt at the end…was that…?"_

_"Yeah, that was it. That was my life, every minute of every day before…before you came along."_

The pair sat in telepathic silence for a couple of minutes before Renamon finally 'spoke'.

_"Why did you not tell me earlier?"_

_"When we first met…you know what I was li-"_

_"__**We**__. What __**we**__ were like. I will not let you shoulder the blame for my actions."_

Rika cracked a tiny smile at her partner's words. _"Thanks…but, you know what we were like. Obsessed with power, wanting to be the strongest. If I told you what had happened, I thought you'd think I was…weak. Hell, __**I**__ thought I was weak. I thought you'd leave if you found out."_

_"I understand that, but…why didn't you tell me later? After we met Jeri and Leomon, and stopped being so…"_

_"Psychotic? And I don't know, it just…there was never a good time, and it's not easy for me to talk about. I mean, even my mum doesn't know about this."_

_"She…how does she not know?"_

_"I made grandma promise not to tell her. I hide the scars with my sweatbands, which makes it easier."_

_"I am…surprised that your grandmother would agree to such a request."_

_"I…I think she did it as much for mum as she did it for me. If she knew that I'd tried to…because of her…"_

_"I understand. At least, I understand as much as I am ever likely to. And Rika, you are __**not **__weak. I felt that darkness, and it had crippled me within a minute. To feel that every waking minute…I would not have lasted as long as you did."_

_"Thanks…"

* * *

_

Rumiko left early the following morning without telling anybody, so that she could avoid facing either her mother or her daughter. Rika was furious at the woman's cowardice, as was Seiko, but both of them had expected her to pull something like this. The woman at least had the decency to leave a tear-stained note explaining her whereabouts.

* * *

_Rika,_

_I just couldn't face you this morning after what I did. I hope you can forgive me._

_I'll call you tonight at 7._

_I love you, and I'm sorry._

_Mum_


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Eskimo Kisses**

Wednesday 13th October - 3:45pm

Kirkfield Park

"It's this way!" Takato shouted and pointed to his right.

"We know, Gogglehead. It's not just your D-Arc that has a compass!" Rika replied as she and Henry ran to catch up with the brown-haired boy.

The three Tamers were heading for a Bio-emergence signal located in the middle of the forest in Kirkfield Park. According to their D-Arcs, the Digital Field was emitting an insanely powerful signal. Rika couldn't shake a nagging feeling that she had seen this signal before, but she couldn't remember where.

"Oh, no…" Henry groaned as they reached the emergence site to find an unremarkable patch of trees, not a wisp of fog in sight. "The Digital Field must have already dissipated! He could be anywhere by now."

"No, he's near. I can smell him," Guilmon growled, sniffing the air.

"Are you sure that's not just Henry's socks? They are pretty rancid!" Terriermon quipped from his seat on top of his Tamer's head.

"Terriermon…"

"Momentai! And wash your socks!"

"Are you quite finished?" Renamon asked as she phased into existence behind the bickering partners and grabbed the rabbit by the ears.

"Uh, yes?"

"Good. Guilmon, can you track him?"

"Um, I think so…" the saurian replied as he began to sniff at the floor cautiously, moving towards a small cluster of bushes nearby. "I think he's in there."

"What? That can't be right!" Takato exclaimed in confusion. "How could something so small be giving off so much power?"

"You've obviously forgotten that fight with Vilemon," Rika replied, her voice tense. "What I don't get is why something with so much power is hiding in the bushes."

"Maybe it's scared, or doesn't want to fight," Henry suggested, peering into the bushes.

"Yeah, right. And how many times has a Bio-emerging Digimon not tried to kill us all?" the redhead chuckled sarcastically.

"Um, actually there was this one Angemon who got lost on his way to the 'Eastern Quadrant', whatever that is…" Takato began, but was cut off by an incredulous look from Rika.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, he's telling the truth," Henry chipped in. "He was actually a really nice…"

The blue-haired boy suddenly stopped talking and took a step towards the bushes. What he had taken to be a pair of oddly-shaped leaves were actually a pair of large, green eyes staring out at him. The eyes blinked twice, then disappeared back into the plant.

"He's definitely in there - I just saw him!"

"Are you sure?" Terriermon asked his partner, jumping down to the ground.

"I'm sure - he looked right at me. All I could see was that he had these really big green eyes."

"This is getting weird. Why isn't he doing anything?" Takato complained.

"I don't like this…" Rika muttered, walking cautiously towards the bushes.

"Careful, Rika…" Renamon warned, following her Tamer closely.

"Rika?" a high-pitched voice squeaked from inside the bushes.

_Wait a second, that sounded like…_

"**Eskimo Kisses!**"

A long-eared white and purple…thing leapt from the bushes and attached itself to Rika's face. The Digimon began rubbing its face against the redhead's nose, causing her to yelp in shock and fall flat on her backside. The girl pried the creature off of her face, her eyes widening in recognition as she looked at her widely-smiling attacker.

"Calumon?"

"Rika!" the small Digimon squealed joyfully and broke free of the girl's grip, wrapping his little arms as far around her chest as he could.

"Okay…either that's the weirdest attack ever, or that thing just hugged Rika," Terriermon said slowly, his eyes widening and jaw dropping open in shock as the redhead returned the hug with a small smile. "That's it! I call mind control!"

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed, bending down and flicking the rabbit's right ear.

"Moment-OW! Hey, that hurt!" he replied, jumping back on to his Tamer's head when he realized that there wasn't going to be a fight. "Bad horsey! Bad!"

Meanwhile, Rika had managed to disentangle herself from Calumon and climb to her feet. The hyperactive Digimon looked at Terriermon curiously for a few seconds before breaking out in an enormous smile again.

"Hey, that looks like a good idea!" Calumon cried, extending his ears and floating up to land on Rika's head. Surprisingly, the girl didn't bother trying to remove him.

"Okay, I'm completely lost here!" Takato complained, looking from Rika to Calumon and back again. "I'm guessing you know this guy?"

"This is Calumon. He used to live with Jeri and Leomon and always hung around with them back in Japan," she replied and frowned, looking up at the purple and white Digimon who was currently doing a handstand on her head. "Which reminds me - what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oooh, I know that one! Everyone else was busy, so I was trying to find someone to play with when a mean monkey and a scary dog put me in a cage and took me to the Digital World, but I escaped and ran away! Then I found a milkshake tree, but I got picked up by a funny-looking data stream before I could pick any and it threw me out here."

"That's…odd," Henry muttered and shook his head. "What's a data stream?"

"A big pink beam of light that makes you go to places," Calumon replied, flying off of Rika's head towards Guilmon. "Hi there, what's your name?"

"I'm Guilmon," the dinosaur replied happily and giggled as the smaller Digimon leapt onto his head.

"Wow, your head sure is comfy!"

The two Digimon ran off into the woods, laughing and playing like children. Takato quickly shouted to his partner telling him not to go far and sighed in exasperation when the saurian failed to reply.

"Peas in a pod…" Terriermon grinned at the boy's irritation.

"So, what are we going to do about Calumon?" Henry asked, continuing when he saw his fellow Tamers' confused looks. "I mean, he's going to need a place to stay and stuff - and before you suggest it, my house isn't an option. It's way too crowded already."

"He'll stay wherever he wants to," Rika smirked. "When he was in Japan he only stayed at Jeri's house one night out of every three. Damn, that reminds me - I'll need to get in touch with her and tell her where the little cream puff is. She'll be worried sick."

"I just realized something…" the blue-haired Tamer said, a look of confusion passing across his face. "Why was Calumon speaking in English if he's from Japan? Well, I know he's not _from _Japan, but you know what I mean…"

"That's…you have a point. Calumon always spoke Japanese when he was in Japan, I wonder how…ah, damn it - I know what this is," the girl sighed and shook her head. "Back in Japan there's an organization called HYPNOS that monitors Digimon activity and helps the Tamers out wherever it can. Their top computer nerds wrote some extra code for our D-Arcs and did research into Digimon physiology. When I left they were said they had discovered a 'Babel Program' embedded in a Digi-core that allowed Digimon to speak the language of whatever country they emerge in. Apparently it doesn't work for partner Digimon, but they don't know w-"

"Uh, guys?" Terriermon interrupted in a nervous voice. "We have a problem…"

The redhead growled in irritation and turned to berate the rabbit-like Digimon, but froze when she saw the source of his worry.

Stood at the edge of the patch of trees, staring straight at Renamon, was Janyuu Wong.

* * *

"D-dad?" Henry stammered as his father took a cautious step forward.

"She's…that's impossible…" the man mumbled as he took another step forward. "You're a Digimon, but that's not…you can't be real!"

"Dad, I can explain," the boy started to say as he intercepted his father.

"Henry, I think he's out of it…" Terriermon whispered in his Tamer's ear, drawing Janyuu's attention.

"You're…you're alive? But you're just a doll…Suzie dresses you in tutus and makes you have dinner parties! You can't be alive!"

Rika chuckled at the rabbit's discomfort. "What's the matter _Princess Pretty Pants_? Don't you like being Suzie's little Barbie doll?"

"I don't…this is…this is…" Janyuu sighed and shook his head as he sat down heavily on a log. "This is WONDERFUL!"

"Gah!" Takato yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin at the man's joyous cheer.

"I can't believe it! You're alive! True Artificial Intelligence! If we had only known where all our work would lead all those years ago…oh, I remember when Renamon was just a sketch in Shibumi's notebook - he would be so happy if he could see this!" he ranted, leaving his audience confused.

"Wait a second, did you say 'Shibumi'?" Rika interrupted with a frown, continuing when Janyuu nodded. "Are you…Tao?"

"Wow, nobody has called me that in…a long time. It's Rika, right? Where did you hear that name?" the man asked, calming down slightly.

"Mr Mizuno…erm, Shibumi mentioned it to m-"

"He's AWAKE?" Janyuu shouted and leapt to his feet, grabbing Rika by the shoulders. "When did he get out of the coma?"

"I…I don't know," the girl replied, stopping her reflexive kick to the man's groin with an inhuman effort. "Would you _please _let go of me?"

"Oh, sorry," he replied and released the girl. "Last I heard Shibumi was in a coma after a car crash. I never heard that he'd woken up…"

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" Terriermon shouted from atop his Tamer's head. "Who is Shibumi, what do you mean by 'all your work' and why aren't you running and screaming like a normal person?"

"Terriermon…"

"Oh, would you just MOMENTAI ALREADY? I know you were thinking the same thing!"

"Uh, I'm with Terriermon on this one," Takato said, scratching his head in confusion. "What were you two talking about?"

"You might want to sit down - this could take a little while to explain," the man advised, motioning towards the log he had been sat on himself. When the children were sat down, he began to talk.

"When I was in college back in the eighties, I was part of a group called the Monster Makers. There were six of us - Me, Shibumi, Babel, Dolphin, Daisy and Curly. We were working on a project sponsored by a large software firm to create Artificial Intelligence. What we made exceeded everybody's greatest expectations - our creations were capable of social interaction, they developed personalities, made friends and enemies - basically, it was a huge success."

"I sense a 'but' coming here…" Terriermon joked, earning him a knuckle-rap to the head from his Tamer.

"_But_," Janyuu said with a grin. "We lost our funding and the project was abandoned when one of the sponsor companies went bust. A children's entertainment company found our old production notes and drawings and turned it into a worldwide franchise."

"Wait, you can't possibly mean that…" Henry gasped as he joined the dots in his head, staring at his father with wide eyes.

"Yes, I do. I, along with the other Monster Makers, am the original creator of Digimon."

"I…whoa…" the blue-haired boy mumbled, shaking his head in wonderment.

"So, you're the one to blame for my tiny little arms and legs! Just how the hell are me and Henry meant to kick butt when I'm only two feet tall? No wonder Airdramon wiped the floor with me…" Terriermon exclaimed in mock anger.

"Terriermon!"

"Kick…Henry, have you been using Terriermon to fight?" the man gasped, shock and outrage plastered across his face.

"No, dad it's not like tha-"

"After I tried so hard to teach you that violence wasn't the answer, that you could always find a way to talk through your proble-"

"So _that's _where he gets it from," Rika interrupted with a smirk. "Mr. Wong, I've lost count of the number of times Henry has gone on about that stuff - usually at the worst possible time."

"Yeah, Rika's right!" Takato piped up, shooting Henry an encouraging grin. "Henry _really _doesn't like to fight - before Rika showed up the only reason he did it was so that I wouldn't get eaten alive by the first Digimon that appeared! He must have saved my life about a dozen times."

"Look, dad, it's not like we go looking for these fights," the half-Chinese Tamer added. "When a Digimon Bio-emerges, they usually attack us straight away and we have no choice but to fight. If we didn't stop them, they'd kill dozens, maybe even hundreds of people before someone else took them down."

"I…this is a lot to take in…" Janyuu sighed, rubbing his temples to ease his growing headache. "I'm gonna take a walk, think about this for a while."

"Um, Mr. Wong?" Takato said nervously. "Would you mind not telling my parents about this? My mum would freak if she knew about Guilmon…"

"I assume that's your partner? Where is he?"

"He's…around," the boy shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"I see…and don't worry, I won't say anything about this to anyone. They'd probably throw me in a mental hospital if I did anyway!"

"Oh, T-er, Mr. Wong? You might want to know that Shibumi, Dolphin and Babel have been trying to contact you and the other Monster Makers. They need help with finding a solution to the Digimon attacks." Rika called as the man began to walk away.

"Thank you, I'll look into that. Do you know how I might get in touch with them?"

"You just need to call the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and ask to be put through to Marilyn on Floor 29, Section Delta. Sorry, I don't know the number."

"Marilyn, eh? Oh, Dolphin - you and Marilyn Monroe…" Janyuu muttered with a grin. "And don't worry, I can Google the number."

As the man walked away, Henry breathed a long sigh and slumped to the ground, almost unseating Terriermon as he did so.

"That was…" the Tamer began, trailing off as he struggled to find a word to describe the last few minutes.

"Unexpected?" Renamon suggested with a tiny smirk, disappearing into thin air a second later.

"Where's she going?" Terriermon asked with a frown.

"To keep an eye on Dino-boy and the cream puff," Rika replied and rolled her eyes. "She'll make sure nobody else finds out our little secret today."

"I don't…I mean I…I can't believe my dad…" Henry stammered, shaking his head slowly.

"Hey, I just realized something," Takato said slowly, scratching the back of his neck. "Digimon is a massive success, so if your dad created it then why aren't you rolling in money?"

"Who knows? Probably some legal technicality or something," the blue-haired boy suggested absent-mindedly. "Don't you just _love _lawyers?"

"WHAT?" Terriermon shrieked in outrage. "That's not fair! I wanna live in a mansion with a…a fifty-foot swimming pool! And an Alienware computer! And a team of chefs cooking delicious meals 24/7…And a chocolate fountain…And a Ferrari cake…"

"And he's out of it," Henry smirked as a far-away look entered his partner's eyes and the rabbit began drooling uncontrollably.

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 9:34pm

Rika breathed a sigh of relief as Calumon finally nodded off. She had spent over half an hour trying to get the little cream puff to stay quiet and go to sleep. _Why did he have to insist on staying at my house? There's no way I can keep him hidden for ever!_ the redhead thought bitterly as she picked up her mobile phone and dialled the number for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

_["Tokyo Metropo-"]_

"I need to speak to Marilyn, Floor 29, Section Delta," the Tamer interrupted in a whisper, growling quietly in frustration as she was put on hold.

_["Yamaki here, who is this?"]_ a man's voice grumbled down the phone.

_Wow, it's gotta be, like 6:30am over there! He really __**is**__ a workaholic._

"It's Rika. I thought you might want to know that I've found another one of the Monster Makers - Janyuu Wong. He should be calling you tonight, or this morning or whatever it is for you."

_["I know, he already called. 'Tao' has already agreed to assist us with our work."]_

_Wow, that's some fast thinking… _"Good. There was one other thing - you wouldn't happen to be looking for Calumon, would you?"

_["How did you…?"]_

"He Bio-emerged a few hundred metres away from my house. He said something about being kidnapped by a monkey and a dog."

_["Oh, you have got to be kidding me…"]_ the man muttered down the phone and sighed.

"Yamaki…" Rika growled, recognizing the blonde-haired man's 'Oops…' voice. "What did you do?"

_["Jeri, Kazu and Kenta entered a portal to the Digital World three days ago. They were going to rescue Calumon."]_

"Then why don't you just get them back?"

_["We…can't…"]_

"WHAT?" the girl hissed, fighting to stop herself from shouting down the phone. "You're telling me you sent Jeri to the Digital World with no way back and only the Dimwit Duo for backup?"

_["Actually, Akiyama Ryo went as w-"]_

"Are you _insane_? That's even worse! Now the city is defenseless!"

_["I am fully aware of the implications - and believe me, this was not my idea. Jeri, Kazu and Kenta left without telling anyone. When he realized what had happened, Ryo went after them. At least he was kind enough to tell us where he was going first."]_

"This is…it's like a bad joke…" Rika groaned and shook her head. "You had better find a way to get them back, or I will ride Kyubimon all the way back to Japan and throw you down that portal myself! You got that?"

The redhead hung up the phone before Yamaki could answer and slumped onto her futon, being careful not to disturb the sleeping form of Calumon. With another quiet groan she let her hair down, rolled him over gently and slipped under the covers beside the little cream puff.

_"Renamon, if he snores…"_

_"I will make sure he does not."_


	12. Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Worth Fighting For**

Thursday 14th October - 8:35am

Redcliff Mount High School - Room P12

"Uh, Rika? You don't look so good…" Takato whispered hesitantly as he sat down next to the redhead.

"Urgh…" she groaned in reply, lifting her head from the desk and fixing him with an exhausted glare. "If taking care of Calumon is _anything _like taking care of a kid, then I'm becoming a nun!"

"That bad, huh?"

"He woke up and started singing and dancing at one o'clock in the morning. And two o'clock. And three o'clock. And four o'clock…and after that, _Renamon_ got so mad she threw him out the window. So yeah, it was _that bad_!"

"Miss Nonaka, is there something that you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Miss Byron snapped and glared at the girl.

"Kiri sute…I mean, sorry Miss Byron," she replied as Takato fought to repress a fit of laughter.

"Good. Now, if I have your permission to continue with the register?" the woman said sarcastically and scowled.

"You know, if she ever Googles 'kiri sute gomen', she'll tear your head off. And maybe we should show Calumon where Guilmon sleeps," the brown-haired boy suggested as the teacher resumed her droning. "That way he could spend the night there instead of somewhere he can make a nuisance of himself."

"That's…actually not a bad idea, Goggles. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Exhaustion? And don't sound so surprised - I _do _have my moments, you know!"

"As rare as they may be…"

* * *

Wong Residence - 2:56pm

"Mum, I'm home!" Henry called as he dumped his school bag next to the door and kicked off his shoes. "Mum?"

"She's not in," his father's voice called from upstairs. "She left to do some shopping before she picks Suzie up."

"OK," the boy replied as he walked up the stairs, heading for his father's office. "How come you're not at work?"

"I am," the man chuckled from his high-backed leather office chair as Henry walked into the room.

The Tamer's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open at what he saw. Where the Wong family's single desktop computer had once sat, there were now four tower units, six monitors and a veritable forest of external hard drives.

"What the…" he mumbled, staring at the computers with a hungry look.

"I know - it's computer nerd heaven! Now that I'm working for HYPNOS, they arranged to have all this stuff sent over so that I could work from home."

"It's…it's like the bridge of the Enterprise or something!"

"I'm pretty sure the Enterprise would be a little less messy," a high-pitched voice squeaked from behind the two Wongs, and they turned to see Terriermon stood in the doorway.

"Terrier…actually, he has a point. Mum is going to _freak _when she sees this."

"I'm pretty sure my new HYPNOS salary will calm her down…" Janyuu grinned as he held up a copy of his contract.

"Is that in Yen or Pounds?" Terriermon asked and rubbed his eyes.

"Pounds."

"Whoa…enough zeroes for ya?" the Digimon mumbled as he stared at the number. "I think I need to lie down."

The rabbit wandered out of the office in a daze, heading for Henry's room. When he was out of earshot (or as close as it was possible for him to get) Janyuu turned to his son with a serious expression.

"Henry, we need to talk."

"I'm pretty sure I can guess the subject," Henry sighed and sat down on a second leather office chair.

"Henry, what you and Terriermon do…it's not something any child should have t-"

"Dad, just stop right there," the boy said and shook his head. "I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't have a choice. If I don't fight, a lot of people will die."

"But…does it have to be you? I mean, Rika and Takato have partners too, surely they can handle it?"

"We already tried it like that. My reluctance to fight sent Terriermon berserk when he digivolved and almost got them killed, then when I flat out refused to fight, Terriermon couldn't digivolve when he needed to and I almost got Steph killed."

"Henry…"

"I _have _to do this, dad. If I stopped and somebody got hurt…I'd never be able to live with myself."

"Ah, damn it, neither would I…" Janyuu sighed and slumped in his chair. "Alright, you've convinced me, but I don't think we should tell your mother about this. She may be a little…how should I put this…"

"Less understanding?"

"Something like that, yeah," the man chuckled and shook his head ruefully. "And Henry? If you, or any of your friends need help with anything…"

"Thanks, dad."

Henry jumped as a sudden scream interrupted the father-son moment. The rapid pattering of tiny feet could be heard heading towards the office and Terriermon skidded into view, a panicked look on his face.

"Okay, don't freak out, but…I think Jaarin may know I'm alive."

"WHAT? How?" both father and son yelped in shock.

"Well, I was wandering around and her bedroom door was open, a-"

"PERVERT!" the fifteen-year-old screamed as she launched herself at the Digimon, hands outstretched ready to strangle him.

"Gah! MOMENTA-urk!"

"When the hell did she get home?" Janyuu murmured as his eldest daughter slowly throttled the life out of the rabbit.

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 3:02pm

"Grandma, I'm home," Rika called as she closed the front door behind her and slouched over to the kitchen, her limbs leaden with exhaustion. "Grandma? Hello?"

_This is weird - the car was still outside. _The girl glanced at the fridge and saw a handwritten note stuck to it with a magnet.

_'Rika_

_Gone out with some friends for a late lunch, will be back around 4._

_Grandma xxx'_

_Huh, I guess she must have walked. _"Renamon, it's clear. My grandma's out with friends."

The kitsune materialized behind the girl without a sound. _"You could have used telepathy, you know."_

"I know, but we hardly ever get to talk out loud these days. It makes a nice change."

"Indeed, it does. You are late home today."

The redhead rolled her eyes and snorted derisively. "Stupid Food Technology teacher got in a mood when I told her I didn't plan on being some spineless housewife."

"Why do I get the feeling that sentence originally ended with the words 'like you'?" Renamon chuckled.

"Because you know me so well?" the girl smirked and yawned loudly. "Anyway, she kept me back for ten minutes and gave me a detention for next Monday."

"You do not sound at all bothered by this turn of events."

"Nope. It's only an hour and it's not like I had anything planned. Speaking of plans, we've got…" the redhead trailed off as she broke out into another yawn. "Ah, damn it. Anyway, Goggles came up with a good idea for sorting out the Calumon situation."

The vulpine Digimon blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"That was my reaction too. He said we should put him in Guilmon's den - that way he has some company, has a place to sleep and shouldn't get seen by anyone."

"Hmmm…I cannot help but question the wisdom of leaving those two alone together for long periods of time."

"And I cannot help but question the wisdom of _four hours of sleep_!"

"Point taken."

"Good. I've got some homework I need to get done before I pass out from exhaustion. Think I'll do it in the garden…"

* * *

3:35pm

Doing her homework in the garden proved to be a very bad idea for the exhausted Tamer. It was oddly warm and sunny for early October in England and this fact did nothing but make the girl even more tired, destroying her concentration and nearly lulling her to sleep. The gentle, soothing chirping of the birds hopping around the beautiful Zen garden did little to help. Renamon, having had just as little sleep as her Tamer, was having just as much trouble staying awake.

_By the Sovereigns, Rika, why can't you just admit defeat?_ the kitsune thought groggily as she teleported next to the girl and gently shook her awake for the third time in thirty minutes.

"Rika, you're dozing off again."

"Wha…? Oh, right. Thanks."

"Maybe you should go inside. Try to sleep and leave the homework for later," the Digimon suggested gently.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," the redhead finally admitted, glancing at the sheet of paper in front of her to see that she had written less than a dozen words in the time she had been outside. With a sigh, she gathered up her pens and paper and climbed to her feet. "I'm gonna kill Calumon if he ever…"

Renamon frowned as her Tamer trailed off and started staring at something behind her with a shocked look. The Digimon turned and quickly matched the girl's expression when she found herself gazing at the smiling face of Seiko Hata. The brown-haired woman gave a small bow before she spoke, looking directly at the Digimon.

"Hello again."

* * *

_Hello __**AGAIN**__? _Rika thought, confusion raging in her mind. _"Renamon…"_

_"I will explain later."_

_"Not good enough."_

"What…what do you mean, hello _again_?" the girl asked her grandmother in a quivering voice.

"I owe this kitsune a great debt," Seiko said as she began walking toward the two partners. "Remember when you were involved in that hit-and-run accident? It was her who told me that you had been injured and showed me where you were. I always knew you had a guardian spirit watching over you."

"She…she did?" the redhead mumbled, wincing as she remembered the so-called 'hit-and-run'. In actual fact, she had been hit by a swipe of an angry Monochromon's tail and injured badly enough to hospitalize her for a week. Blaming it on a car accident had seemed to be the only plausible explanation.

"Yes. If it wasn't for her…well, you probably wouldn't still be alive. The kami are finally smiling on you."

"Grandma, I…" the girl began, not wanting to burst the woman's bubble. "I don't think…she's not technically a real kitsune."

"Oh, I know that!" Seiko laughed, surprising both her granddaughter and the Digimon. "With the amount of time you spend playing that card game, how could I _not_ recognize Renamon - my granddaughter's favourite Digimon? I'm not _quite _as oblivious as your mother, you know."

"Wait, you mean…you knew about her for all this time? And you don't…have a problem with her?" Rika asked tentatively.

"Of course not. And before you ask, yes I do know about what you've been getting up to. Did you really think I wouldn't notice all the sneaking around? The scrapes and bruises?" the woman said, sounding oddly calm. She shook her head gently and placed a comforting hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "I know that you two have been fighting to protect all of us, and I am so proud of you."

"It's not just us, you know…" the girl mumbled, shuffling uncomfortably at the praise.

"I know - that nice Jeri girl was one too, and I overheard you talking about a few others back in Japan. Are there any of them here in England?"

"Yeah, there are a couple of others. I'd…rather not say who they are without their permission."

"I understand. Renamon, I want you to know that you are always welcome in our house. However, it may be best for you to stay out of sight whenever Miranda or Rumiko are around."

"Thank you, Mrs Hata," the kitsune replied politely with a small bow.

"Um, does this mean that you haven't told mum about this?" Rika asked nervously.

"Rika, do you remember when you were nine and you got that splinter? Your mother was _this _close to dragging you to the hospital - just imagine what she'd be like if she knew about Renamon! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, grandma," the girl said with a small smile that quickly turned into a yawn.

"Oh my, was there a midnight attack?" Seiko asked with a small frown.

"No, I was up all night babysitting a Digimon called Calumon. He somehow managed to get here all the way from Japan."

"Hmmm…he wouldn't happen to be a small, white thing with big green eyes and extendable ears, would he?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

A small white head poked out of the woman's handbag and extended its ears, an enormous grin on its face. "Surprise!" Calumon cheered around a mouthful of food.

"Calumon…" Rika groaned.

"Um, what was it that Terriermon said…oh, yeah - MOMENTAI!" the cream puff shouted and leapt at the redhead, spreading his little arms wide and hugging her.

"You just had to be cute, didn't you?" she groaned and reluctantly hugged the small Digimon back. "I need to lie down…"

* * *

Five minutes later…

_"Renamon…why didn't you tell me my grandma saw you before?"_

_"I…do not really know…"_

_"You don't know? How can you not know?"_

_"I…Rika, I have been keeping something from you. The fight with Devimon…was not the first time I digivolved."_

_"W-what?"_

_"After Monochromon hit you, I Dark Digivolved. When I saw you lying there, broken and bleeding, I…I was so angry, and I just ripped him to shreds. I lost control much like Gargomon did and I was ashamed. When I came to my senses, I saw that I had no way of getting you to the hospital myself, so I…"_

_"You told my grandma I was hurt?"_

_"Yes. I made her believe…I __**thought**__ I made her believe I was a real kitsune and told her where you were. I used her religion to manipulate her. It was…wrong. You have every right to be angry with me."_

_"Are you __**totally insane**__? You saved my life! How could I be anything but grateful?"_

_"You know what we were like back then. I was…afraid of showing that I cared for you."_

_"Renamon…"

* * *

_

Redcliff Mount High School, outside Old Science Block - 3:46pm

"I still can't believe you got me a detention," Steph grumbled and shot Cam a venomous glare.

"How was I supposed to know Big Al was stood behind us? You didn't notice either!" the boy replied, giving the blonde-haired girl his best 'puppy-dog' eyes. "I'm sowwy…"

"That only works when Guilmon does it. Well, him and Suzie…and Calumon…anyway, let's get going. I don't want to be stuck in this dump a second longer than I…"

The girl trailed off, her eyes widening with fear as a large cloud of fog suddenly appeared, swirling around the two children. Both of them recognized the fog, either from experience or from Takato and Henry's descriptions.

"Oh, no…" Cam mumbled as the Digital Field thickened and a bright white light appeared, hovering in mid-air.

"I don't want to die!" Steph moaned.

"Hold me!"

The children closed their eyes and huddled together as the light intensified, becoming so bright that it shone through their eyelids. Suddenly the light vanished and the girl began to cry, whimpering in terror as she felt something brush against her cheek.

"Pipuhpi?"


	13. Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Reunion**

Thursday 14th October - 3:47pm

Digital Field outside Redcliff Mount High School's Old Science Block

"Pipuhpi?"

Steph opened her eyes slowly, and felt her fear evaporate into confusion as she was greeted by the sight of a six-inch tall pink fairy with a red loveheart on his chest. The creature had a sad expression on his face, and his eyes were wet with unshed tears.

"Pipi…" it mumbled dejectedly and looked down, then suddenly looked back up with a much happier expression. "Pipipi!"

The girl flinched as a small pink loveheart flew at her from the Digimon's mouth, striking her right between the eyes. The last vestiges of her fear disappeared immediately as she felt a wave of positive emotions wash over her.

"Cam…" she whispered and looked at the boy, sighing as she realized he still had his eyes closed. "You can open your eyes now."

"Is it gone?"

"No, it's still here, but…HE'S SO CUTE!"

Steph's reaction to Guilmon was nothing compared to her reaction to the fairy Digimon. She grabbed him in both hands and hugged him tight against her chest, babbling nonsensical baby talk as she did so. After about a minute, the girl was woken from her cuteness overdose by a small cough.

"Uh, konichiwa?" a boy's voice said, and both Steph and Cam turned to see a Japanese boy stood at the centre of the Digital Field.

The boy was even shorter than Rika, and had a mop of dark greenish hair. He was wearing a pair of square, wire-rimmed glasses, a beige shirt over a yellow T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts.

"Konichi…oh, crap - he's Japanese!" Cam moaned. "Why did I never listen to Takato when he was trying to teach us Japanese?"

"Because you're a moron?" Steph suggested and shook her head, turning to the mystery boy. "Konichiwa! My name is Stephanie Rare. Stephanie Rare," she said slowly, pointing to herself. "Cam Ridings," she said and pointed to Cam, then to the boy. "And you?"

"Kitagawa Kenta. MarineAngemon," the mystery boy replied, pointing to himself, then to his partner.

Steph smiled and bowed to the boy, then began trying to form a coherent sentence out of her limited knowledge of Japanese. She was quickly interrupted by Cam, who came up with one of his rare good ideas.

"Look, why don't we just go find Takato or Rika? They know how to spea-"

"Rika?" Kenta interrupted with a frown. "Nonaka Rika?"

"Nonaka…oh, right the names are back to…yes, erm hai, Nonaka Rika!" Cam replied, and was shocked by the new arrivals' reactions.

MarineAngemon let out an ear-piercing scream, dove into his Tamer's shirt pocket and began quivering like a ball of jelly. Kenta, meanwhile, kept his reaction slightly less dramatic as a look of sheer terror passed across his face.

"Buso…"

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 3:52pm

Rika groaned and cursed mentally as her iPhone rang loudly in her pocket, waking her from the short nap she had been taking. She checked the caller ID, seeing that it was a mobile number and answered the phone, assuming it was one of her fellow Tamers. She had given both Takato and Henry her number a week ago under the condition that it was for use only in an emergency.

"Hello?" the girl sighed irritatedly, wincing as the caller replied.

_["Rika, is that you?"]_ a boy's voice asked, erupting from the phone's speaker at incredible volume.

"Yow! STOP SHOUTING! Is this Gogglehead?"

_["Uh, no it's Cam. Listen, w-"]_

"Why do you have my number?" the redhead growled menacingly, interrupting the black-haired boy.

_["That's not important!"]_

"Like hell it isn't! Where did yo-"

_["Rika, we have an emergency,"] _a voice which Rika recognized as belonging to Steph interrupted. _["We need you to meet us in the park, at Gorilla Clearing. There's something you have to see."]_

"I…alright, I'll be there in a few minutes. If this is just some stupid prank…"

_["It's not, trust us!"] _Cam butted in.

"Yeah, right…"

* * *

Guilmon's Den - 4pm

"Alright, Goldilocks - this had better be good!" Rika growled as she stormed towards the clearing.

"Oh, it's …well, 'good' isn't the word I'd use, bu-"

"Just tell me what's going on," the redhead sighed, interrupting the blonde girl's rambling.

"Right, sorry! Anyway, me and Cam had a detention, and as we were leaving this Digital Field popped up around us. I was…we thought we were going to die. Anyway, this really bright light appears and when I open my eyes…I mean I'd closed them because I was so scared and…ANYWAY! I turned around and there was this kid with a Digimon stood there!"

"What? Where is he now?"

"Um, hey Rika!" a voice called out nervously in Japanese from behind the redhead.

_Wait a second…I recognize that voice…_ the girl thought as she turned around, a look of shock on her face.

"Kenta? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, me, Kazu Ryo and Jeri went to the Digital World to resc-"

"I know _that_ part - Yamaki told me about your little quest. Great rescuing, by the way - Calumon Bio-emerged yesterday not far from here."

"Oh, right…um, yeah, so we got attacked by five of the Devas and we got sepa-"

"Wait a second - what the hell is a 'Deva'?"

"Pipipuhpipipipah," MarineAngemon squeaked from his Tamer's shirt pocket, poking his head out for a second and grinning in a manner that was (according to Steph) 'SO CUTE'.

"Yeah, that about covers it," Kenta nodded, translating the fairy's words. "They're a bunch of Digimon who work for one of the Digimon Sovereigns - Zhuqiaomon. They're all based on animals of the Zodiac - like a dragon, a monkey, a dog, a roo-"

"Wait, the monkey and the dog - Calumon mentioned them. He said they were the ones who kidnapped him!"

"Yeah, they were."

"Why would a Sovereign want to kidnap Calumon and attack you? I thought they were meant to be the good guys!"

"Not Zhuqiaomon," the green-haired boy sighed and shook his head. "Rumour has it that he's gone mad. He's obsessed with destroying humans and sees Tamers as an insult to Digimon."

"One of the most powerful Digimon in all existence is out for our heads? That's not good."

"You're telling me? He's been sending a few of the Devas on missions to Tokyo to do some really weird stuff. One time it was an all-out attack by the pig-Deva Vikaralomon that turned out to be just a distraction so they could kidnap Calumon - that one levelled a pretty big chunk of Shinjuku. Another time Caturamon - the dog Deva - just turned up at a house and murdered a whole family - even the two kids!"

"That's…gods that's horrible…" Rika mumbled, shocked by the horrific news. "Why would he want to kill little kids? He's…"

"A monster?" Kenta finished for the redhead. "Like I said, Zhuqs is a nutjob. He makes the Devs worship him as a god and they're completely brainwashed. There are rumours that he's trying to create an army to lead against the other Sovereigns."

"That's pretty screwed up…" the girl muttered thoughtfully. "None of that explains how you got here, though."

"Oh, yeah. Well, we were attacked by like, five of the Devas and we had to retreat. We got separated by Data Streams - they're these bi-"

"Calumon told me about them, what happened next?"

"Well, me and MarineAngemon ended up stuck in the Forest Level when we got ambushed by a pack of Tyrannomon. We were running away when the ground just opened up beneath us and threw us out at that school. I ran into your, um…friends and they brought me here."

"Okay…do you have any way of getting back to the Digital World? From what you said, it sounds like the others are in pretty big trouble."

"Um, no…and I don't think the two of us would be much use against a screwball uber-Mega like Zhuqs anyway. I mean, even Cyberdramon had trouble taking down just _one_ Deva."

"Damn it!" Rika cursed and looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "Man, this is screwed up…"

"You're not the one stuck on the wrong side of the planet! At least you speak the language here!"

"Damn, that's right, you're stuck here…look, if you want, you can stay at my place for a while. Turns out my grandma knew about Renamon months ago, so we can just tell her the truth instead of…why are you looking at me like that?"

Kenta flinched in fear as the girl glared at him. He had been giving her a confused and slightly suspicious look for several seconds.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but…who are you and what have you done with Rika?"

"Is there a _right _way to take that?"

"No, I guess not…" the boy chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "The thing is…you've never been nice to me before. I always got the impression you kinda hated me."

"I don't hate _you_ - I hate your moron friend Kazu. And besides, when you're around him you do act like a bit of a dick. You should just grow a spine and act like yourself."

"Um…I'm not sure whether to be insulted or not."

"I'd go with insulted - it's usually a safe bet!" a familiar, high-pitched voice squeaked from nearby.

_Oh, no…_ Rika groaned mentally as she turned to see Terriermon stood on his Tamer's head. The redhead frowned as she noticed some large, red marks around the rabbit's neck.

"Rabbitmon…what happened to your neck?"

"Uh, well…"

"He walked in on my sister when she was naked. She got a little…upset," Henry chuckled, rapping his partner on the head with his knuckles.

"Heh, that's nothing," Kenta laughed. "One time, MarineAngemon managed to find his way into the girls' locker room at school and for some reason, they blamed it on me! I got chased around school and got the crap beaten out of me by a couple of Jeri's crazy friends."

"Ouch…" Henry laughed sympathetically.

"Wait a second - you can understand him?" Steph gasped in confusion.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Henry, what language am I speaking now?" Rika asked in Japanese.

"Um, English…"

"What? She's speaking Japanese!" Kenta exclaimed in confusion.

"Kenta, what language am I speaking now?"

"Still Japanese. Rika what the hell is…" the Japanese boy trailed off and frowned. "Oh, I get it…Babel 2.0…"

"What's Babel 2.0?" the blue-haired boy asked.

"It's a program that lets a D-Arc translate anything a person says into a language the user understands, as long as whoever is talking also has a D-Arc. Don't ask me how it works - it's something to do with complicated data scanning and transfer and perception altering and stuff."

"Cool…the name's Henry Wong, by the way and this is Terriermon," the boy said, holding out his right hand.

"Kenta Kitagawa, and this is MarineAngemon," Kenta replied, shaking Henry's hand uncertainly. "Whoa, cool! Just like in those American movies!"

"Moron…" Rika and Terriermon muttered at the same time.

"Hey, Henry wait a minute…your last name's Wong, right? You know a guy called Janyuu Wong?" the green-haired boy asked.

"Yeah, he's my dad, and yes, he _is _Tao. He's already got in contact with HYPNOS and everything," the half-Chinese Tamer explained.

"Huh, cool. Anyway, Rika, am I still OK to crash at your place?"

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered, noticing the odd look Henry and Terriermon were giving her. "What?"

"Whoa, Rika being nice…" the rabbit-dog mumbled, receiving a knuckle-rap to the head for his efforts.

"Terriermon…and Rika, how are you gonna explain that to your mum and grandma?" Henry asked.

"I just found out that my grandma already knows about Renamon and everything. Kenta can easily hide from my mum - she probably wouldn't even notice him unless he put on a bright pink dress…"

"I'm pretty sure Suzie could arrange that!" the blue-haired boy laughed as his partner shifted his feet uncomfortably.

* * *

After quickly explaining the situation to Cam and Steph (and forcing Cam to delete her mobile number), Rika took Kenta back to her house to talk to her grandmother. Seiko was very understanding about the boy's situation, generously offering him a room for as long as he needed it, on the condition that he remain hidden from Rumiko. Mere seconds after the words of thanks left his mouth, the massive house's front door swung open and a woman's voice called out in Japanese, causing both Rika and Seiko to leap to their feet, panic and usher the boy outside to find a suitable hiding place.

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 4:25pm

"Mother, Rika - I'm home!" Rumiko's voice called out cheerfully and the woman walked into the living room just as Seiko and Rika leapt back onto the seats.

"Hello dear. Either I'm going senile or you're home a day early," the older woman said evenly, casting a wary glance at her daughter and granddaughter.

The two had still not had a real talk about what had happened the previous week, dodging expertly around the subject in their daily telephone conversations. Rika was refusing to look at her mother, staring intently at the coffee table. The blonde-haired model was pretending that she hadn't noticed, hiding her feelings badly.

"Hello Rika," Rumiko ventured, hoping to attract the girl's attention.

"Hey," the redhead replied, glancing quickly towards the door and wondering whether she would be able to make it to her room if she made a run for it.

"Oh, for the love of…would you just _talk _to each other?" Seiko growled after an uncomfortable silence over a minute long. "This isn't going to just go away if you sweep it under the rug! Now, I'm going to stand outside the door, and you two are not leaving this room until you have sorted this out."

"But gra-"

"No buts, young lady!" the brown-haired woman interrupted and leapt out of the door, closing it behind her with a soft 'THUD'.

The pair sat there in silence for several more minutes, neither willing to make the opening move. Eventually, Rumiko sighed and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa to her daughter.

"Rika, I…I'm sorry," she sighed, looking at the floor. "I should never have…hit you. I just got so angry and I…I just snapped. I should have thought about what I was doing, thought about how much it would…especially after what happened with…"

"You can say his name," the girl replied coldly. "It's not like I'm gonna break down or anything just because you say it."

"I know, it's just…what Yamato did to you was so…and I just…oh, GOD why is this so bloody difficult? Why can't I even apologize to you properly?" the woman cried out, clenching her fists angrily. "What kind of mother am I?"

"You hitting me wasn't the thing that…it wasn't what got to me the most," Rika half-whispered, dodging the semi-rhetorical question and fighting to control her own anger and sadness. "What you…said before that…"

Rumiko's eyes widened in horror as she remembered her own ill-considered words. _"It's times like this I wish I'd never even __**had**__ a child!_"

"Rika, I-"

"Do you know what that feels like?" the girl interrupted, her voice barely audible. "Do you know what it's like to have someone say that to you? What it's like to feel like nobody loves you? What thinking that made me…feel…" she finished weakly and rubbed at her wrists, barely stopping herself from revealing her darkest secret.

"Rika…I'm so, so sorry. I didn't think and I…" the woman broke off as she burst into tears. "I didn't mean a word of it! I love you and I'm lucky to have you. I wouldn't give you up for anything!"

The redhead looked down to the ground, uncomfortable with her mother's crying. "I know, it's just…everything…"

"I know, and I'm sorry…everything you've been through and I…what I said…I just made it worse…" Rumiko sobbed, missing the point entirely.

_"I meant the fact that you're never here!" _Rika wanted to scream. _"The fact that you sod off and leave me at every opportunity! The fact that you treat me like a Barbie doll! The fact that you don't care about anyone but yourself!"_

As a telepathic wave of soothing thoughts washed over the girl, she realized that she had been broadcasting her thoughts to Renamon. _Got to keep control…don't want to say that stuff yet…can't face the consequences yet…can't tell her about __**that **__yet…_

"Rika…can you forgive me?" Rumiko whispered, and the redhead realized that they had been sat there in silence for several minutes.

Not trusting herself to speak, she merely nodded slowly and allowed herself to be pulled into a bone-crushing hug by her mother. The woman's crying immediately intensified as Rika fought to hold back her own tears. Noticing the increased volume of her daughter's sobbing, Seiko poked her head through the door and watched the mostly one-sided embrace with mixed feelings.

Eventually, Rika managed to pry herself free from the hug and the girl stood up, glancing uncomfortably towards the door again. Rumiko nodded towards the door with a sad smile and the girl practically flew out of the room, only to be collared by her grandmother.

"I sent your friend upstairs while you were talking," the brunette whispered. "He's in your bedroom with your kitsune partner."

Rika nodded her thanks and suppressed the flash of panic in her mind. Sound tended to carry from the living room up to the girl's bedroom thanks to a quirk in the house's design, meaning that Kenta may have heard snippets of her conversation. The girl hadn't told her grandmother about the acoustic oddity, as it meant that the redhead could listen in on the 'private' conversations which Seiko and Rumiko occasionally had about her.

Her fears were immediately dispelled as the Tamer entered her bedroom to see Kenta sat on the floor, Renamon stood behind him with her paws covering his ears. With a dry chuckle, Rika sent a telepathic message to her partner telling her to release the boy.

"Finally! Was that _really _necessary?" the boy complained quietly, MarineAngemon agreeing with a series of 'pi's and 'puh's from his pocket.

"Yes," the kitsune replied with a nearly-invisible smirk before disappearing into thin air.

"Sorry about that," Rika sighed and slumped onto her futon. "My mum wasn't supposed to get back until tomorrow evening. This makes things a lot harder…"

"I know," Kenta replied with a frown. "I mean, what are the odds she's not gonna notice me? It's not like there's a secret room or anything you can hide me in."

"No…but I do have the next best thing!" the redhead exclaimed excitedly, pulling out her iPhone and typing a quick text message to her grandmother.

_[Get mum out of the house for 10 mins. Need to find somewhere to hide Kenta. Thanks]_

A minute later, Seiko's voice called up to the girl's bedroom. "Rika, your mother and I will be in the garden if you need us."

"Okay," she replied and waited until she heard the door thud closed. "Right, follow me."

The redhead led Kenta out of her room and down the stairs, then headed towards a small wooden door built into the staircase. She opened it, revealing a concrete staircase leading down to another, much larger and thicker door and walked down the stairs carefully and quietly. She opened the second door, leading the boy into a large cellar filled with boxes, with a punchbag in one corner and a guitar case and set of amps in the other.

"This is where you'll be sleeping," Rika informed her fellow Tamer and pointed towards a small futon buried under a pile of boxes. "There's a futon there and the room's practically soundproof, so don't worry about talking too loud. There's a toilet and sink in the other room and just ask my grandma if you need food. My mum will probably insist on driving me to school tomorrow, so I'd stock up on stuff before she gets back at about 8:30."

"Got it. Thanks again for giving me a place to stay - I really owe you one," Kenta said with a smile.

"Actually, you owe me about seven for saving your ass so many times."

"Yeah, but if we deduct the number of times you tried to kill us…"

"I already did."

"Oh yeah, heh…could have sworn it was more than that. Then again, you did tend to go after Kazu a lot."

"Can you blame me?" Rika replied with a chuckle. "Right, I gotta get back upstairs. You can move the boxes off of the futon, but other than that don't touch anything - _especially_ not my guitar. Or else…"

"Yes, ma'am…" the boy gulped with a mock salute, then looked around in confusion as the girl began walking towards the door. "Um…what am I supposed to do down here?"

"I don't know, have a game of cards or something. You always seem to have a deck with you," she replied dismissively as she slammed the door closed.

"Well, buddy…" Kenta sighed and produced a pack of playing cards from his back pocket. "Blackjack?"

"Pi!"


	14. Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

Just a quick note: with the introduction of the Babel 2.0 system in the last chapter I'm going to pretty much abandon the use of underlining to denote Japanese speech. I may occasionally use it where appropriate (i.e. - when some people present don't speak Japanese and don't have access to Babel).

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Deva**

Digital World, Desert Level - Day Cycle - Time and Date Unknown

"Keep moving! We're almost there!" a well-tanned Japanese boy of about fourteen with short brown hair shouted from atop a ten foot tall bipedal dragon clad in sleek black armour.

"Going…as fast…as I can…" gasped a slightly taller silver android that looked like it had been patched together from spare parts. "Kazu…recharge me…please?"

The visor-wearing Japanese boy riding on the robot's back nodded and quickly swiped a recharge card through his black-ringed D-Arc. "Dude, you really need more exercise…"

"As I am not organic, that would be rather pointless," Andromon replied and quickened his pace before launching into a longwinded explanation of why robots are unable to benefit from exercise.

"Any excuse…" a ten foot tall humanoid lion wearing a pair of tattered jeans interrupted with a chuckle. "Are you okay back there, Jeri?"

"I'm fine…" squeaked a rather queasy-looking Japanese girl in a green dress with short, brown hair as she struggled to hold on to her partner's mane. "Look, there's the crater!"

As the eclectic group skidded to a halt next to a large crater, Andromon fell to his knees in a flash of light and was replaced with a smaller, more primitive looking spherical robot with armour the colour of rust. "I need a better battery…" Guardromon moaned as his partner swiped another recharge card.

"Don't worry, chumley - we made it! All we need to do is get on the Ark and…where's the Ark?"

"Oh, no…" Ryo moaned as he pulled out the PDA-like communication device Yamaki had given him. "We're twenty minutes early - the Devas will be on top of us long before the Ark gets here!"

"Is there anything we can do?" Jeri asked hopefully, glancing back at the rapidly-approaching dust cloud on the horizon. "Maybe if you contact Yamaki…"

"That thing has never worked before - why would it work now?" Kazu complained.

Suddenly, the communications device let out a series of beeps and a tinny voice erupted from the speakers. _["…can you hear me? This is Yamaki to Digital World, can you hear me?"]_

"That was convenient…" Leomon noted with a grin.

"Yamaki, it's Ryo. We have a problem - the Devas are gonna be on top of us in about two minutes. We need the Ark here _now_!"

"Hey, what about Kenta?" Kazu complained, and glared at his idol, Jeri nodding in agreement beside him. "We can't just lea-"

_["Kenta is safe,"] _Yamaki interrupted via the communicator._ ["He and MarineAngemon somehow managed to Bio-emerge at Rika's school in England. I assume this means you did not receive my previous message?"]_

"Ouch…I'd have preferred the Devas…" the visor-wearing Tamer joked.

"We received the part about the Ark," the eldest Tamer explained as he shot a quick glare at Kazu. "The second half of it got lost in transit. Now, can you get the Ark here sooner or not?"

_["Alright, the Ark is not an option, but we do have a plan to get you out of there. You might want to brace yourselves - this could get a little bumpy…"]_

"Just how bumpy are we talking here?" Jeri asked, flinching as the ground began to tremble and a strong wind picked up. "Oh, _that _bumpy."

A series of glowing green cracks began to appear in the dusty earth beneath the Tamers' feet as a sound like tearing cloth echoed through the desert. Suddenly, the cracks flared white and the ground collapsed from under the exhausted group, revealing a swirling green vortex beneath the earth. Humans and Digimon screamed as one as they were sucked into the portal along with a copious amount of digital debris.

* * *

Friday 22nd October - 11:59pm Local Time (2:59pm English Time)

HYPNOS Command Centre, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo

"The portal is active, power levels stable…and the Tamers are in!" a blonde-haired woman wearing a white jumpsuit and a complex headset called. "Projected emergence point is on the roof of the…wait a minute…I'm getting some power fluctuations! They're being scattered!"

"Try using MAELSTROM to compensate!" a blonde-haired man wearing a black suit and square sunglasses growled.

"I'm trying…locking on…damn it! It's no use, the modified tracer program has been destroyed. I can't get a lock."

"What were their last known trajectories?"

"Jeri and Leomon were still on target for the roof of Tower 1, Kazu and Guardromon were headed for Shinjuku Central Park. Ryo…" the woman let a small smirk pass across her face. "Let's just say Kenta's gonna have some company."

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 3:04pm

Rika sighed contentedly and closed her eyes as the deluge of hot water rained down on her body, washing away the troubles of the day. _Nothing like a hot shower…_ she thought idly as she squeezed a blob of shampoo into her hands and began washing her hair. _God, I'm glad it's half term. A whole week off school! I could really do with a week of rest and relaxation…not that I'm likely to get it. _After a few minutes, the girl yawned and opened her eyes again, frowning in confusion at what she saw.

_That's weird…it never usually gets that steamy in here. Did I forget to open a window or something?_

The redhead switched off the shower and pulled back the curtain, reaching out with her left hand to grab a towel from the rack. As her hand closed around the soft fabric, she flicked her head to the side to clear her vision of the long strands of hair obscuring it, only to scream in surprise and leap behind the curtain as she looked up into a pair of panicked, azure eyes.

"RENAMON!"

* * *

Minutes Later

"Rika, I'm really, really sorry…" Ryo apologized as he pressed a bag of frozen peas against the lump on the back of his head, rubbing idly at the large red handprint on his left cheek as he did so.

"Save it," the now fully-clothed redhead growled in reply with a light blush.

Rika, Ryo and Monodramon were all sat around the small, round wooden table in the kitchen. The girl's grandmother had dragged them all down there to treat the wounds Rika and Renamon had inflicted on Ryo and his partner before she left to try and call HYPNOS. Kenta and MarineAngemon were stood (or hovering) behind Rika looking highly confused, as nobody had decided to explain the situation to them yet.

"It's not like we _wanted _to Bio-emerge in your bathroom!" Monodramon whined, his voice having taken on a distinctively nasal quality thanks to the wads of cotton wool stemming the tide of blood flowing from his broken snout. "I don't get why you humans are so sensitive about that 'naked' stuff anyway. I mean, it all looked okay to me."

"What?" Rika growled, blushing furiously and reaching out to grab the frying pan on the stove next to her as Kenta fought to suppress a burst of laughter.

"GAH! I thought that was a compliment!" the little purple dragon yelped as he ran for the door, narrowly ducking the pan as the girl threw it at his head.

"Rika, I've managed to get through to HYPNOS!" Seiko called.

"Okay, thanks grandma," she replied and stood up, heading for the living room and picking up the phone. "Yamaki, what the HELL are you playing at?"

_["I assume this means that Mr Akiyama arrived safely…"] _the man replied dryly.

"Yes he arrived you moron! He appeared in my house about ten minutes ago. Why did you send him here?"

_["We didn't have a choice in the matter. Are he and his partner both intact?"]_

"Apart from the beating me and Renamon gave them, yeah."

_["Rika, why did you…on second thoughts, I don't want to know. It will take us a while to sort out a way to get everyone back to Japan - can Ryo and Cyberdramon stay at yo-"]_

"Oh, no you don't! I've already got the Sandworm living in my basement - I can't deal with Mr Perfect too! And it's Monodramon - he de-Digivolved when they Bio-emerged."

_["I don't even want to know where Kenta got a nickname like tha-"]_

A familiar loud, insistent beeping interrupted the man and Rika looked at her D-Arc to see a Bio-emergence alert. The girl grinned and quickly threw the phone to her grandmother, running for the door.

"Gotta go, grandma!" she called as Renamon phased into existence next to her, a smirk gracing her golden-furred features. "**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

"Wait for us!" Ryo, Kenta and Monodramon shouted as they ran to catch up with the rapidly-moving redhead.

"Pipipuhpipi!"

* * *

Kirkfield Park - 3:21pm

"That's a big one…" Takato mumbled as he stared at the Digital Field.

"Uh-huh," Guilmon nodded beside him, equally awestruck by the massive cloud of fog.

It was easily the biggest Digital Field they had ever encountered, dwarfing even IceDevimon's gargantuan ice dome. It enshrouded a large clearing and an enormous chunk of the surrounding forest near the outskirts of Kirkfield Park, the far edges encroaching onto Rika's property.

"Well, here goes nothing…" the goggle-wearing Tamer sighed, trying to repress the rising tide of fear he felt. "You wanna Digivolve for this one, boy?"

"Yes please, Takatomon!" his saurian partner growled as the boy drew the necessary card and slashed it, encasing the saurian in a glowing red Data Sphere.

"**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Guilmon, Digivolve to…Growlmon!**"

The two-storey tall dinosaur snarled and sniffed the air cautiously as he stomped forwards into the Digital Field, his Tamer following behind him. The interior of the Field was mistier than normal, making it hard to see anything more than a vague outline of the area. The draconic Digimon stopped near the centre of the clearing and growled hungrily.

"I smell him, Takatomon…he's strong. Stronger than anything we've ever fought before."

"Okay, keep your eyes peeled and your claws ready. If we keep a cool head we should be able to take him down no problem."

"Your overconfidence shall be your undoing…" a voice growled in Takato's ear and the boy span on his heel to see…nothing.

"What the…who's there? Come out and show yourself you coward!" he shouted with false bravado. _Great, now I sound like someone from a bad fantasy film._

"As you wish…**Samurai Tiger Tail!**"

A purple and yellow blur flashed across the Tamer's vision and Growlmon roared in pain as something smashed into his right side. The dinosaur was sent toppling to the ground as an evil chuckle rang through the clearing.

"Growlmon! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Takatomon. Boy, I'm gonna need a lot of peanut butter after this fi-"

"**Samurai Tiger Tail!**" the voice interrupted as the blur smashed into Growlmon again, this time striking him just behind his left eye. The saurian was sent crashing to the ground with a yelp as his opponent landed, allowing Takato to get his first good look at their attacker.

The Digimon looked like the unfortunate offspring of a tiger, a parrot and a Viking longship. Its body was basically feline in shape, with purple-striped golden fur and a red neckerchief tied around its neck. Its forelegs were clad in purple bracers, while a pair of bird-like wings protruded from its shoulders. The top half of each wing was covered in striped fur, while the bottom half was made up of snow-white feathers. Finally, attached to the top of each of its four legs were four purple and silver round shields, a vicious spike protruding from each one. Takato pulled out his D-Arc and scanned the feline, feeling his fear increase tenfold as he read its statistics.

_Name: Mihiramon_

_Level: Ultimate_

_Attribute: Data_

_Note: One of the Twelve Devas_

_Special Attacks:_

_Armoured Tiger Tail_

_Samurai Tiger Tail_

_Tiger Wing Blades_

"He's an Ultimate? Oh man, what have I gotten us into now…" he moaned as Mihiramon padded towards him.

"Hmmm…I've never tasted human before. They say it tastes like pork, but I've never had that either. What do you think you'll taste like, little boy?" the tiger chuckled and licked his lips, showing off his massive fangs.

"Um…something horrible? Please?" the boy replied, trying and failing to think of a witty comeback.

"I sincerely doubt it. Ah, well - we're about to find out!" the Deva snarled and leapt at the boy.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

"**Dragon Wheel!**"

Takato blinked as a streak of blue fire shot across his vision and slammed into Mihiramon mid-pounce, throwing the feline to the ground. The fire quickly dissipated to reveal a smirking Kyubimon.

"_This _is what passes for an Ultimate these days? My, my - standards really are slipping…" she chuckled as the tiger climbed to his feet.

"I am going to make you scream for that insult…" he growled and leapt into the air, flying at the kitsune at breakneck speed. "**Armoured Tiger Tail!**"

As he closed in on his vulpine opponent, Mihiramon's tail transformed into something resembling a three-part set of nunchakus. The Deva suddenly jinked to the left, somersaulting in mid-flight and striking the ground next to the fox with his tail. A powerful shockwave tore through the clearing, sending Kyubimon flying through the air like a ragdoll. She slammed into Growlmon - who had just managed to get back to his feet - with bone-jarring force and sent the dinosaur crashing back to the ground with an exasperated moan.

"What, no screams?" the tiger snarled and began circling the clearing, remaining just far enough away to be hidden by the mist.

"This isn't good…" Rika muttered and began rifling through her deck in search of a particular card. "Here we go…**Digi-Modify! Target Lock activate!**"

Kyubimon's eyes flashed white for a second as she gazed slowly around the treeline. Suddenly, she spun around and fanned out her nine tails, gathering ghostly blue flames around each tip.

"**Fox Tail Inferno!**" she called and launched the fireballs into the mist. She was quickly answered by a shriek of pain from Mihiramon. "Looks like it's you doing the screaming, kitty cat…"

"Oh, you are going to pay for that…**Samurai Tiger Tail!**" the Deva roared and flew at the kitsune, only to jink right at the last second and alter his target.

"RIKA!" Takato shouted as he saw the tiger flying straight at the redhead. He threw himself into her, shoulder-barging her out of the line of fire, but placing himself squarely in it.

"GOGGLEHEAD!" Rika shrieked as she saw Mihiramon's nunchaku-tail slam into the boy's solar plexus, winding him and sending him flying a dozen feet through the air. He landed hard and rolled several times, finally ending up in the foetal position at the foot of a tree. The girl quickly ran to his side, wincing as she saw the tears of pain in his eyes.

"Goggles, are you okay? Talk to me!"

"Isn't that sweet…" Mihiramon laughed as he circled the clearing again. "Don't worry, little girl - I'll put him out of his misery soon. And then you can join him."

The redhead stood up slowly, clenching her fists at her sides. A look of cold, barely-contained fury passed across her face as she drew a random card from her card holder, not noticing the fact that it changed colour to a glossy blue in her hand.

"Nobody threatens my friends," she spat as she slashed the card. "**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Kyubimon, Digivolve to…**"

Kyubimon shone with a bright blue light and reared up on her hind legs as a glowing blue Data Sphere formed around her. After a few seconds, the Sphere exploded outwards revealing her Ultimate form in all its glory.

"**…Taomon!**"

Taomon was more humanoid than even Renamon, but was still distinctly vulpine in appearance. Her face was flatter, but still covered in golden fur and her front paws had developed something approaching opposable thumbs. She was clad in purple robes with long, white sleeves and a gold-edged white tabard over the top with a Taijitu symbol emblazoned over the centre of her chest. A pair of white fin-like protrusions rose from her shoulders, each marked with a flaming Taijitu symbol, while a plain black fin rose from her head.

"You digivolved?" Mihiramon growled in surprise. "No matter, I can still destroy you with ease."

"Your overconfidence shall be your undoing," the vulpine Digimon chuckled as she drew a small, red piece of paper from her sleeve. "**Talisman Spell!**"

The piece of paper flashed white briefly, then fluttered harmlessly to the ground to lie at Taomon's feet, prompting a laugh from the Deva. "You call that an attack? THIS is an attack! **Samurai Tiger Tail!**"

As the tiger rocketed towards the kitsune, the piece of paper began to glow softly. When Mihiramon was too close to break off his attack, the spell paper flared white and a sphere of transparent energy appeared around Taomon. The feline yelped in pain as he slammed face-first into the shield, falling to the ground as a line of digital blood began trickling from his nose.

"My turn! **Thousand Spells!**" the vulpine Digimon shouted and pointed both of her robed arms at her opponent.

Dozens of small, red pieces of paper flew from Taomon's sleeves and slammed into the prone form of Mihiramon, exploding and eliciting a roar of agony. As the Deva tried to climb back to his feet, the kitsune let out another cry of "**Thousand Spells!**", this time firing the spell papers in a ring around the tiger. The papers flashed white and a glowing cord of magical energy flew from each piece, connecting to the piece of paper opposite it in the ring. Within seconds, Mihiramon was trapped in a glowing net of energy, unable to dodge as his foe readied her most powerful attack.

"**Talisman of Light!**" Taomon called as an oversized paintbrush emerged from her sleeve.

She quickly and expertly drew a complex symbol in the air in front of her, the ink miraculously attaching to the empty space as if it were a solid object. When the symbol was complete, the black ink began to glow white and Mihiramon's eyes widened in fear.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" he roared as a beam of pure, white light slammed into his body, tearing through him as if he were nothing more than the weakest of Rookies. Taomon didn't bother absorbing the Deva's data, leaving it for the wounded Growlmon.

As soon as the Digital Field had dissipated, Rika turned back to Takato and knelt down next to the injured boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Gogglehead, are you okay?" she asked, a surprising amount of concern in her voice.

"I'm…fine…" he croaked and nodded, still clutching his ribs. "Nothing…broken…"

"No offence, Goggles, but you're not the best judge of that. Damn it, where's Kenta when you need him?"

"Right…here…" a voice gasped from behind Rika, the speaker sounding as if he was in as much pain as Takato. "What…seems to be…the problem?"

"Goggles took a hit from Mihiramon's tail, I think you sh-"

"Mihiramon? HERE?" the green-haired Tamer shrieked in terror and began to panic. "We have to run! We have to hide! We have t-"

"SHUT UP!" the redhead shouted and slapped him hard across the face. "He's dead - Taomon took him out. Now, would you please take a look at Gogglehead's ribs?"

"Oh, sure…wait, you killed him? That guy gave Cyberdramon trouble! And who's Tao…" the boy trailed off as he finally noticed the seven foot tall wizard Digimon stood at the centre of the clearing tending to the now-de-Digivolved Guilmon's wounds. "Oh, right. Nevermind."

"Thank you!" Rika sighed as Kenta finally began to examine the wounded boy's ribs. "Wait, speaking of Cyberdramon, where the hell is he? It's not like Mr Perfect to miss out on a fight."

"Right here," a voice mumbled from behind Rika yet again, and she turned to see Ryo stagger into the clearing supported heavily by Monodramon. "It's not easy to run with a concussion, you know!"

"Oh, stop overreacting. I barely touched you!" the girl sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, what's the verdict, Doc?"

"I don't think anything's broken, but there's gonna be a nasty bruise there pretty soon," Kenta replied as he helped the goggle-wearing Tamer to his feet. "You got lucky there, Takato."

"I know," he replied and grinned weakly, then turned to Ryo. "So, this is the infamous Ryo? What're you doing in England?"

"Well, this guy Yamaki opened a dimensional portal to try and get me, Monodramon, Jeri, Leomon, Kazu and Guardromon back to Japan. Unfortunately, I'd say his aim needs a little work."

"You can say that again!" Takato chuckled, then frowned when he noticed the older boy's injuries. "Damn, you look worse than I feel. What happened to you?"

"Uh, well…" he began and glanced at Rika, both of them breaking out into simultaneous blushes.

"On second thoughts, I don't wanna know…"

A sudden series of beeps interrupted the conversation and Ryo reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a matt-black PDA. _["…repeat, Yamaki to Ryo, come in Ryo. Riley, are you sure this thing is working?"]_

"This is Ryo, reading you loud and clear! Did the others get home safely?"

_["They're all fine. We detected a Bio-emergence in your area, has it been taken care of?"]_

"Yeah, Prin…I mean, Rika managed to take care of it. That's another Deva down, by the way - Mihiramon is dead."

_["Excellent. Give her my congratulations. Also, when Mihiramon Bio-emerged, he did so using the channel created by your little emergency exit. He has widened the channel enough for us to send the Ark through to pick you up. ETA is one minute."]_

"I'm going home? YAHOO!" Kenta cheered as he heard the news.

"Wait, what about Calumon?" Rika asked with a frown. "We need to find him and send him back with you guys. I'm pretty sure Jeri will want him back."

_["There's no time. The Ark will only be able to stay in the real world for less than a minute - if he isn't on it, it'll leave without him."]_

"Okay, thanks, Yamaki. Well, I guess this is goodbye!" Ryo said with a sad smile, then glanced at Rika. "At least I got the chance to say it this time…" he said in a quiet, pained voice intended for her ears only.

_What the hell was that? _the redhead thought with a puzzled frown. Before she could ask about the strange comment, a gale-force wind suddenly blew through the clearing as a five-metre wide ball of light appeared floating in mid-air. A pair of metal rails extended downwards from the light, hitting the ground with an audible clang. A few seconds later, a cube-shaped glass box descended slowly down the rails until it touched the floor and the doors opened with a musical chime.

"_That's_ the Ark?" Kenta said and frowned as he stepped into the box. "It's just a big glass elevator! It even has the same crappy music!"

"Would you prefer to walk?" Ryo asked with a laugh and staggered into the Ark, Monodramon following close behind.

"Going up," a computerized, feminine voice said as the Ark's transparent doors slid closed.

"Bye, Rika! Thanks for the room!" Kenta called, MarineAngemon poking his head out of the boy's pocket and agreeing with a series of 'pi's and 'puh's.

"Catch ya later, Wildcat! Thanks for the concussion!" Ryo added with a grin as the glass box began to ascend.

"I'm gonna break your legs, Akiyama! I swear, next time I see you, you're a dead man!"

* * *

_"Renamon…you were amazing out there!"_ Rika cheered telepathically as she walked back to her house, Takato leaning heavily on her right shoulder.

_"I aim to please,"_ the kitsune replied coolly. _"I must admit, it was exhilarating to feel so much power."_

_"I can imagine. There's one thing that bothers me, though - what do you think Ryo meant by what he said?"_

_"You mean the 'Wildcat' remark? I think that was intended t-"_

_"Not that! I meant the whole 'goodbye' thing."_

_"Oh, I see…" _the kitsune replied with a frown. _"It may be something to do with the fact that you never actually told him you were leaving Japan. It is likely that he only found out second-hand from Jeri or Kazu long after you had left."_

_"You think that's it? I mean, it's not like we were friends - I hate the guy and he got on my nerves even more than Kazu. Not to mention the fact that his partner's a complete psycho who tried to kill me! Why would he be bothered about that?"_

_"I do not know. I still do not fully comprehend the unpredictable nature of human relationships. The interactions between Jeri and Kenta in particular tend to confuse me."_

_"Yeah, those two are a 'special' case. Wait a second, you don't think Ryo…likes…?"_ the redhead started to say, then trailed off with a dry chuckle. _"Yeah, right - like that'd ever happen!"_

"What's so funny?" Takato asked, oblivious to the mental conversation taking place between the two partners.

"Oh, nothing," Rika replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. _"Man, that thought was disturbing…at least now I know what my nightmares are gonna be about for the next month!"_


	15. Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Gao With the Flow**

Monday, 18th October - 3:20pm

Kirkfield Park

_Stupid Mrs Madison…_ Cam growled mentally as he jogged quickly towards Gorilla Clearing. _Keeping me back ten minutes…like I was the only one talking! I swear the old bat has it in for me…_

The black-haired boy's mental accusation was, rather surprisingly, neither baseless nor paranoid. Even the people who hated him noted that Mrs Madison seemed to single him out for punishment with surprising regularity. Unfortunately, the elderly woman had chosen an incredibly poor day to keep the boy back, as he was meant to have met Henry at Gorilla Clearing ten minutes ago for lessons in the Digimon card game.

"Tons of homework, got kept back, late for meeting Henry…could this day get any worse?" he muttered to himself angrily.

Cam regretted his exasperated words immediately as a familiar fog began gathering around him. As he turned and began to run, a bright white light flared at the centre of the Digital Field, temporarily blinding the boy and causing him to trip over a tree root. He landed with a yelp of pain, quickly trying to climb back to his feet as his vision cleared.

_Don't panic…don't panic…maybe it'll be friendly, or another of Rika's mates from Japan, or…_

The boy ceased all attempts to mentally reassure himself as he spotted the newly Bio-emerged Digimon. It was at least ten feet tall, with leathery, earthy-brown skin, a long white mane and a massive fang-filled mouth. The knuckles of its left hand were covered with metal studs, while its right hand clutched an enormous bone club. A black-and-yellow tiger-pattern loincloth was the only thing on the creature's body that could possibly be described as clothing. Cam flinched as the massive ogre sniffed the air and turned to face him, staring with its beady eyes and licking its lips hungrily as it stomped towards him.

_Definitely not friendly…_ the boy thought as he froze up with fear, the Digimon reaching out with its free hand to grab him.

"FUGAMON!" a voice roared as a bright white light once again filled the Digital Field, blinding Cam for the second time in twenty seconds.

As his vision slowly returned, the terrified boy saw a blue blur slam into his attacker, knocking the ogre to the ground. He blinked and rubbed at his eyes as the blur resolved itself into a blue-furred wolf with a white mane wearing a long, red scarf. The wolf slashed at the ogre's eyes with paws clad in what appeared to be a pair of red boxing gloves, three massive black claws protruding from the end of each glove. Fugamon screamed in pain as his left eye was torn out by one of the claws, lashing out with his fist at the wolf's head and sending it flying into a nearby tree. As the bestial Digimon climbed shakily to its feet, Cam noticed a series of old, scabbed-over blade wounds running down its left flank.

"Get out of here, child!" the boy's saviour growled as it leapt at the ogre again, its jaws open wide. "**Gaoga H-**"

"**Evil Hurricane!**" Fugamon interrupted, swinging his club and launching a miniature tornado at his opponent, sending him crashing back into the same tree. "Nice try, Gaogamon, but you should have let me kill the boy. You weren't ready for this fight."

"Go…to hell…" Gaogamon gasped as his monstrous opponent lifted his club to deliver the killing blow.

_I've got to do something…_ Cam thought and looked around desperately. Seeing a pile of pebbles nearby, he quickly grabbed a small, sharp stone from the rop of the pile and threw it at Fugamon with all his might.

The ogre roared in agony as the stone struck him in his one remaining eye, blinding him. Gaogamon's scarf suddenly lashed out, the two ends of the crimson fabric taking the shape of clawed hands as they smashed into his opponent's right leg and sent him crashing to the ground.

"**Gaoga Hound!**" the wolf roared and leapt at Fugamon, digging his teeth into the demonic Digimon's throat and tearing out a massive, bloody chunk of digital flesh. The ogre gurgled sickeningly as he thrashed on the floor and slowly disintegrated into data. Gaogamon quickly absorbed the data before he collapsed to the ground in a flare of white light and was replaced by a small, blue-furred creature that looked vaguely like a teddy bear crossed with a dog. The Digimon had a bushy, white-tipped tail, a white stomach, a red headband and a pair of red boxing gloves.

"Are you…are you okay?" Cam asked tentatively and took a few hesitant steps towards the semi-conscious Digimon.

"Cam, stop!" a voice called out, and the boy turned to see Henry and Terriermon running towards him.

"Yeah, are you nuts? That guy could have rabies!" the rabbit joked, earning a disapproving look from his Tamer. "Wait…why is he knocked out?"

"Well, there was this big brown ogre thing - I think he called it a Fugamon…anyway, it was coming right for me and this guy…well, this guy in his Digivolved form saved me," the black-haired boy explained, kneeling down next to the prone Digimon. "What's his name?"

Henry pointed his D-Arc and activated the scan function, reading off the stats displayed on its holographic screen.

_Name: Gaomon_

_Level: Rookie_

_Attribute: Data_

_Special Attacks:_

_Double Backhand_

_Rolling Upper_

_Gao Rush_

"We can't just leave him here…" the blue-haired Tamer muttered thoughtfully. "You're sure he attacked that Fugamon to help you?"

"Yeah, he told me to run for it and everything. Is there anything we can do for him?"

"Henry…we could take him back to our place," Terriermon ventured. "Suzie's got dance class and Rinchei won't be home for another couple of hours. Maybe your dad will know what to do with him."

Henry nodded his agreement and moved to pick up the now-unconscious Gaomon, only to be beaten to him by Cam.

"Hey, the guy saved my life! Least I can do is give him a lift…" the boy said with a forced grin, trying desperately to hide the depth of his concern.

* * *

Wong Residence, Henry's room - 4:35pm

Gaomon groaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking around at his unfamiliar surroundings. He was laid in a single bed covered with a plain blue sheet in a teal-painted room with a greyish-blue carpet. In one corner of the room sat a small LCD TV and an Xbox 360, two boys and a Terriermon sat a few feet away from the screen. A black-haired boy who Gaomon recognized as the one from the fight with Fugamon turned around, hearing the Digimon's pained moan.

"He's waking up!" the boy exclaimed excitedly, nudging his blue-haired friend. "How are you feeling?"

"I am…not at my best…" Gaomon gasped as he tried to sit up, failing miserably and slumping back onto the soft mattress. "Where am I?"

"You're in a country called England, in the human world," a blue-haired boy replied with a concerned look. "Try not to move - you were beat up pretty badly after that fight."

"I think he'd noticed…" Terriermon joked with a grin. "I'm Terriermon, by the way, and this is Cam and Henry."

"The fight…I remember…" the blue Digimon mumbled, then looked at the black-haired boy. "You…you saved my life."

"He did?" Henry and Terriermon said at the same time, confusion written all across their faces.

"Heh, it was nothing…just returning the favour!" Cam replied sheepishly.

"Hang on, rewind to the part where you saved his life!" Terriermon exclaimed with a mock glare. "You after my job or something?"

"Terriermon, when you get glared at by Rika every day, your glares just don't cut it!" the boy laughed. "And I really didn't do much. I just nailed Fugamon in the eye with a stone as he was about to stomp on Gaogamon."

"Not bad…" Henry chuckled, then looked back at Gaomon. "Is there anything we can get you? Some food, something to drink maybe?"

"I…do not wish…to be a burden…"

"Oh, come on!" the rabbit-like Digimon shouted. "Stop being so damn polite and eat something before you delete yourself! It's not like they've got a shortage or anything…"

"Terriermon…"

"In that case…some food would be…much appreciated, thank you."

* * *

After devouring a plate full of cheese sandwiches, Gaomon seemed to be much healthier. The little Digimon recovered incredibly quickly, much like all Digimon in his position. By the next morning he was almost back to full health, and insisted that he was well enough to move out of the Wong house. After saying his goodbyes and offering his profuse thanks (for the fiftieth time), Gaomon left the Wong house…and moved into Kirkfield Park, about two hundred metres away.

* * *

Thursday, 21st October - 2:52pm

Kirkfield Park, Gaomon's Grove

Gaomon fell to his knees, panting heavily as his exertions began to take their toll on him. The little Digimon had just spent over an hour practising the rigorous daily fitness regime he had devised to keep himself in shape in the absence of the regular combat he experienced in the Digital World.

_It is strange…_ he thought absent-mindedly as he stood up and waded into the nearby stream. The Digimon splashed his face with the cool water and gazed around at his tranquil surroundings, drinking in the sights and smells of the wooded grove. _The humans often describe their world as hellish and chaotic, but when I am here…I cannot see it. It is so peaceful. There is so much beauty to be found in a place like this 'park', but the humans barely seem to notice. In the Digital World, this place would merely be another battleground._

Gaomon climbed out of the stream and shook himself like a dog, sending a fine mist of water flying in every direction. When he was suitably dry, he lay back in the long grass and closed his eyes. _At first I resented being stuck here but the longer I stay, the more I begin to wonder…_

…_Why did I even want to go back?_

A sudden chill ran down the blue-furred Rookie's spine and he leapt to his feet, instantly recognizing the sensation.

_A Bio-emerging Digimon? This should be interesting…

* * *

_

Somewhere Nearby - 2:54pm

"How's Gaomon doing?" Takato asked Cam as they strolled through the park towards Guilmon's Den at a leisurely pace.

"He seems okay," the black-haired boy replied. "I went to see him yesterday after school - he's moved into this little clearing thing not far from here."

"He lives out in the open? Doesn't he get cold?"

"I dunno. He has fur, so I think he should be o-"

Cam was interrupted by a sudden, insistent beeping emanating from his friend's D-Arc. Takato pulled the device from his pocket and glanced at the screen, then frowned in confusion.

"That can't be right…it says there's a Digital Field right…" he started to say, trailing off as a cloud of fog sprung up around the two boys. "…Here…"

Cam quickly closed his eyes, remembering from bitter experience just how bright the light flare from an emerging Digimon could be. Takato, on the other hand, had never been in this position before and was blinded by the sudden flash.

"Gah! What the hell was that?" the Tamer yelped as he rubbed at his eyes and blinked repeatedly.

A low growl echoed from behind the pair and they turned to see a black, cat-like Digimon about the same size as the average house cat. Its ears and purple-striped tail were each tipped with a trio of purple feather-like tufts of fur, and a pair of purple gloves covered its front paws.

"Uh oh…" Takato moaned as his vision returned. "That's a BlackGatomon…this isn't good."

"Maybe she's friendly, like Gaomon," his friend suggested. "Here, kitty-kitty…GAH!"

The boy leapt aside as BlackGatomon hissed and pounced at him, claws extended. The feline landed gracefully and turned, preparing to pounce again, when a polite voice suddenly rang out through the Digital Field.

"I would prefer it if you did not do that," Gaomon said evenly as he stepped into the Digital Field. "We mean you no harm. Please, calm down and we can talk about this. We do not want to fight you."

The black cat's only response was an angry snarl and a shout of "**Lightning Paw!**" as she leapt at the blue-furred canine. Gaomon replied with a shout of "**Rolling Upper!**" and leapt into the air, spinning and striking his opponent across the face with a vicious backhand. BlackGatomon yelped as she landed heavily, staggering slightly as she hit the ground.

"You will pay for that!" she snarled, glaring at the Rookie. "**Cat's Eyes!**"

The feline's yellow eyes flashed briefly as Gaomon met her glare and suddenly froze, lowering his guard and staring into her eyes with a dazed expression. With an evil chuckle, BlackGatomon padded slowly towards her opponent, leaping into the air as she came within a few feet of him.

"**Lightning Kick!**" she shouted and kicked her foe viciously in the stomach, sending him flying to the ground. "**Cat's Eyes!**" she called as he stood up, hypnotizing the unfortunate canine for a second time.

_I have to do something…_ Cam thought as the cat chuckled evilly and padded towards Gaomon once again, turning her back to the two humans. _Maybe if I…oh, man I'm gonna regret this!_ The boy ran quickly towards BlackGatomon as she began to call out her special attack and leapt into the air.

"**Lightning P**-YEEOOW!" the feline shrieked as the black-haired boy grabbed her by the tail, swinging her round and throwing her at a nearby bench. She hit the wooden planks hard, snapping several of them with her head and landing in a dazed heap covered in splinters.

"Snap out of it Gaomon!" Cam shouted and shook the blue-furred Digimon out of his hypnosis.

"You may wish to leave this area," Gaomon sighed and shook his head to clear it. "I am not confident in my ability to defeat this Digimon."

"Don't talk like that! It sounds to me like you're giving up already," the boy snapped and kneeled down to look the canine in the eye. "Even _I_ know that Gatomon aren't exactly strong for a Champion Digimon. I know you can beat her."

An intense tingling ran up both Cam and Gaomon's spines as their eyes, normally brown and yellow respectively, suddenly flashed pale blue. A ball of white light appeared between the human and Digimon, floating in mid-air and descending slowly towards the boy's outstretched hands. As it touched his skin, the light faded to reveal a white D-Arc with a pale blue ring around the screen.

"Is this…I don't…" the boy stammered, staring at the device with a look of shock and wonder before springing into action. "Takato, throw me your cards!"

The Japanese Tamer complied, unclipping his card holder from his belt and throwing it to his friend. Cam caught the holder and began quickly rummaging through the cards, drawing a few he thought would be useful as BlackGatomon climbed to her feet. As the cat's eyes flashed yellow and she opened her mouth to speak, he slashed the first of the cards he had chosen.

"**Digi-Modify! Cherrymon's Mist activate!**"

"**Cat's E-**"

"**Illusion Mist!**" Gaomon interrupted and a thick mist suddenly descended on the area, obscuring the feline from view and rendering her attack useless.

"You fool…" the cat sneered from somewhere to the pair's right. "Now you have no idea where I am. I could strike from anywhere, at any time."

"I do not need to see to fight!" Gaomon called and closed his eyes, then opened his right eye and looked at his newly-qualified Tamer. "You may wish to stand back a bit."

Cam obliged and took a few steps back as his partner closed his eyes again and stretched his arms out to his sides, a frown of concentration passing across his furry face. The boy grinned and quickly swiped a power card and a speed card as he spotted the canine's plan. After a few seconds, a black shape suddenly rocketed through the air at the blue-furred Digimon's back, paws outstretched.

"**Lightning Kick!**"

"**Double Backhand!**" Gaomon called in reply, spinning on the spot at incredible speed and leaping at his feline opponent.

BlackGatomon shrieked as the canine tornado slammed into her, his fists striking her all over her body a dozen times every second. The cat fell to the ground, her data flickering and destabilizing as her opponent walked over to her and raised his right hand.

"I…hate…puppies…" she gasped as Gaomon brought his fist down on her head, reducing the feline to data which he immediately absorbed.

"Are you okay?" Cam asked tentatively as his partner stood shakily to his feet.

"I am fine, thank you. It would seem that I owe you my life once again, sir."

"And once again - I was just returning the favour. BlackGatomon would have shredded us if you hadn't turned up."

"I…you may be right, sir…" the blue-furred Digimon admitted with a small smile.

"What's with the whole 'sir' thing?" Cam asked with a confused look.

"You are my Tamer. I am your Digimon," he replied, as if the answer was obvious.

"Dude, don't call me sir. We're partners - that means we're equal, got it?"

"Yes si-I mean, yes."

"Gogglehead, Cam, what's going on?" a familiar voice called, and the two humans and Digimon turned to see Rika and Renamon emerging from the forest. "I got a Bio-emergence signal, then a really weird data spike crashed my…who is that?" she asked, pointing at Gaomon.

"That's Gaomon, my partner!" Cam explained with a grin.

"Partner? How the hell did that happen?" she asked, looking at the goggle-wearing Tamer.

"Well…" Takato began with a glance at his black-haired friend. "Do you wanna tell it?"

"Sure! Let's see…a BlackGatomon emerged right on top of us and tried to kill us, then Gaomon appeared and saved our arses. Then BlackGatomon hypnotized Gaomon and started beating the crap out of him, so I grabbed her by the tail and threw her at that bench," he explained, pointing at the mangled piece of furniture. "I gave Gaomon a pep talk and th-"

"Is he making this up?" the redhead interrupted, looking at Takato.

"Surprisingly, no."

"ANYWAY…I gave Gaomon a pep talk and then a D-Arc appeared. I borrowed some of Takato's cards and we wiped the floor with that crazy cat!"

"Okay, _now_ is he making it up?" she asked again, frowning as Takato shook his head and grinned. "I don't believe this…"

"Believe it!" the newly-minted Tamer cheered and pulled out his pale blue-ringed D-Arc.

"No way!" the girl exclaimed and grabbed the device from the black-haired boy, studying it closely to make sure it wasn't a fake. When she was satisfied that it was genuine, she handed it back to its owner. "What, are they giving these things away in cereal boxes now?"

"Hey!" Cam exclaimed with an insulted expression that, for some reason, reminded Gaomon of a sulking bulldog puppy. "What? What?" the boy growled as his partner began laughing quietly at the mental image.


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Cameron's Web**

Sunday 24th October - 12:04pm

Guilmon's Den, Kirkfield Park

"Okay, I got odds of three to two on the Gogglehead! Any takers?" Terriermon called from his usual perch atop his Tamer's head.

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed and rapped his partner on the head with his knuckles. "What did I tell you about gambling?"

"You said I shouldn't gamble, but you never said anything about being a bookie! Momentai!"

"Hey, bunny boy! Don't make me get Rika down here…" Cam threatened with a mock glare at the diminutive Digimon before returning to his card game. "Your move, Takato."

The goggle-wearing Tamer grinned and played his next card with a flourish. "I digivolve my MegaSeadramon to MetalSeadramon!"

"Damn, maybe I should have taken that bet," Steph whispered to Henry with a small smile.

"Oh, great. Are you happy Terriermon? You've even managed to corrupt Steph to your nefarious ways!" the boy chuckled and flicked his head to the side, throwing the rabbit to the ground. "And I think Cam has an ace up his sleeve…"

"Do you guys mind? I'm not out yet!" Cam complained and drew a card, an evil grin spreading across his face as he realized what it was. "Oh, Takato…my MetalGreymon digivolves to WarGreymon!"

"I don't get it," the blonde girl whispered. "Takato has the type advantage, so why is Cam grinning like an idiot?"

"WarGreymon is specifically designed to kill dragon-type Digimon, or 'dramon'. Even with the type disadvantage, he'll rip MetalSeadramon to shreds."

Henry was proven correct within a minute. Takato let out an irritated groan as his MetalSeadramon was torn to shreds by a series of attacks from WarGreymon's Dramon Killers.

"How could I forget the Dramon Killers?" he moaned with a grin. "Looks like we're even, now. Up for a tie-breaker?"

A series of loud, insistent beeps rang through the small cave, cutting off the black-haired Tamer before he could answer. The noise of the three D-Arcs was deafening in the enclosed space and the humans and Digimon quickly escaped into the open air.

"My first Bio-emergence? ALRIGHT!" Cam cheered ecstatically before turning and shouting at a nearby tree. "Gaomon, fight time!"

A small, blue shape dropped from the tree, executing a landing that left him perfectly balanced on top of Guilmon's sleeping form. "Let us get moving then. And would somebody _please _wake up Guilmon?"

"Oh, I can do that," Terriermon grinned and wandered over to the saurian, whispering gently in his ear. "Guilmon, lunchtime…"

"FOOD!" the red dinosaur yelped and leapt to his feet, throwing Gaomon several metres through the air.

"Fight first, food later, okay boy?" his Tamer chuckled and set off through the forest at a run, the other Tamers and Digimon following close behind.

"Wait for me!" Steph called and began sprinting after them. "If you guys think you're leaving me out of this one…"

* * *

The group followed Takato's compass and reached the Bio-emergence site - a small, grassy field at the edge of the park - just over a minute later. There was one factor that confused them, however - the lack of a Digital Field. The Tamers and Digimon walked forward cautiously while Steph remained close to the treeline at the edge of the field.

"What the hell?" Cam exclaimed, looking around with a confused look. "Are you sure you followed that thing right, Takato?"

"I'm sure," he replied, shaking his D-Arc and tapping the back of the casing with his knuckles. "You guys check your compasses. Maybe mine's not working right."

"No, mine says it should be here, too," Henry said with a frown.

"Same here. We should be right…on top of it…" the black-haired Tamer mumbled and looked down at the ground. "Gaomon, could the Field have formed under-WHOA!"

The three Tamers and their partners let out a chorus of surprised yelps and screams, with Terriermon issuing a series of particularly colourful curses as the ground collapsed beneath them.

"NO!" Steph shrieked and ran forwards, only to be forced to step back as a large chunk of earth simply disappeared from in front of her. When the dust had cleared, the blonde-haired girl stepped forwards again and looked down into the gaping hole left in the centre of the field. All she managed to see was the inside of what looked like a sewer pipe before the ground suddenly shifted beneath her. She leapt back with a yelp as several large fragments of earth slipped over the mouth of the hole, plugging it.

_Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God…_ she thought breathlessly, her mind teetering on the brink of panic. _They could be hurt, or dead, or dying or…_

_SNAP OUT OF IT!_

_Okay, okay, stay calm…don't lose your head, that's what Rika told Taka…that's it! I've got to find Rika - she'll know what to do!

* * *

_

Near the Nonaka Residence - 12:09pm

Renamon sighed as she settled down into her habitual meditation pose - crouched, balancing on the balls of her feet with her heels pressed together, front paws resting upturned on her knees - and closed her eyes. The kitsune's meditation was interrupted seconds later, however, by the sounds of something running through the forest nearby.

_Two-legged, medium size…if I didn't know better, I'd say that was a human! _she thought and phased out of existence, reappearing a dozen metres closer to the source of the noise. _A trespasser…I had better keep an eye on them. Wait…is that Steph?_

"Steph!" the vulpine Digimon called out and activated her _Kohenkyo_ ability again, reappearing several metres in front of the girl. "What is the matter? You seem flustered."

"There was…a Bio-emergence…when we arrived, there…was no Digital Field…" the blonde gasped breathlessly. "Takato and the others…went to look around…ground collapsed under them…I think they're trapped. I know Rika said…not to bother her today but…it's an emergency!"

_Rumiko and Seiko are still out shopping…it should be safe to take her to the house._

"Very well. We shall go get her immediately," Renamon replied.

"Give me...a second to...catch my...wah!" Steph yelped as the kitsune scooped her up in her arms and activated her _Kohenkyo_ ability, both human and Digimon disappearing into thin air.

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 12:11pm

Renamon phased into existence in the main entrance hall of the Nonaka residence and gently set Steph down at the bottom of the massive staircase. The girl looked a little shaken by her brief interdimensional trip and had turned a vivid shade of green.

"Wait here," the kitsune ordered as she opened the small wooden door built into the staircase, stooped slightly to fit through the undersized opening and closed the door behind her.

With a pained sigh, the vulpine Digimon padded quietly down the narrow staircase and opened the second, larger door at the bottom of the stairs. She winced as the noise coming from the basement increased in volume tenfold, all but overwhelming her sensitive hearing. Renamon stepped through the door and gazed at her Tamer for a few seconds, not wanting to intrude on one of her most private moments.

The redhead was stood at the far corner of the room holding a red Gibson "Flying V" guitar. Her hands were dancing expertly across the instrument as she lost herself playing Iron Maiden's "The Trooper". The kitsune was surprised to see that Rika's hair was hanging loose around her shoulders and that, even more shockingly, she was not wearing her wristbands, leaving her scars unhidden for the first time Renamon could remember.

_"Rika, we have an emergency,"_ she called out telepathically, wincing again as the girl stopped playing abruptly and fixed her with a furious glare.

"This had better be life or death!" Rika growled as she quickly unplugged her amps and placed her guitar back in its case.

_"It is,"_ Renamon replied and quickly explained the situation telepathically while her Tamer pulled on her wristbands and restyled her hair.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" the girl sighed as she ran for the stairs, calling out to Steph when she reached the top and burst through the door. "Steph, can you take us to where it happened?"

"I can…but please don't do the teleport thing again. I nearly threw up last time."

"Oh, don't worry," Rika chuckled as she dragged the blonde-haired girl outside and drew a modify card. "I've got a much better way to travel…**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

* * *

Kirkfield Park - 12:16pm

As Kyubimon skidded to a halt in the small field, Steph practically leapt off of the kitsune's back. The girl took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm her nerves before she began walking shakily towards the disturbed patch of earth that marked the former site of the hole.

"H-here it is," she stammered as Kyubimon padded forwards and examined the ground. "Well? Can you break through?"

"I can, but I won't. The earth is too unstable - to attempt to dig through could cause a cave-in and injure somebody."

"Damn it!" Rika cursed with a scowl. "There's got to be a way for us to get in there…"

"Wait, I think I have an idea!" Steph exclaimed and began running back towards the woods. "When I looked into the hole, I saw what looked like a sewer pipe or something. We might be able to get in through the old water pipe at the edge of the park."

"Great, sewers…" the redhead muttered as she ran after the blonde-haired girl.

* * *

Somewhere Underneath Kirkfield Park

Cam groaned and slowly opened his eyes as he came back to full consciousness. _Where…am I?_ he thought as he looked around at his surroundings. There wasn't much to see thanks to the poor light, but as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, the boy found himself cursing his poor luck.

He was at the end of a long, round tunnel, the walls and floor made out of greyish-brown stone. In the middle of the floor was a wide channel that looked like it was meant to carry water or some other form of liquid, but the channel was completely dry. The Tamer tried to take a step forwards, frowning and looking around in confusion as his legs failed to move. With a growing sense of horror, he realised that he - along with Takato, Henry, Guilmon, Gaomon and Terriermon - was suspended from an oversized spider's web.

"You have _got _to be kidding me…" he groaned, causing the still-unconscious humans and Digimon to stir and awake.

"Five more minutes…" Guilmon mumbled, Takato and Terriermon murmuring in agreement.

"Hey, wake up you guys!" Henry called as he blinked and looked around. "We're kind of in trouble here…"

"That's not how you do it," Gaomon sighed and took a deep breath. "GUILMON! DINNER!"

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" the saurian roared and opened his eyes, shocking his Tamer and Terriermon awake.

"GAH! What the hell was that?" the rabbit shrieked and tried to cover his ears, only to discover that both his ears and his hands were stuck to the web. "Okay, what the hell happened?"

"The ground…it collapsed…" Henry said hesitantly, trying to fight his way through the fog shrouding his memories.

"Yes…then we were attacked…" Gaomon continued, frowning at the memory.

"I remember!" Takato shouted triumphantly. "We got rushed by a bunch of spiders! What were they called, KoDokugumon?"

"Yeah, that was it. One of them bit me and I passed out," Cam replied with a frown. "Um…anyone know where we are?"

A chorus of negative answers reached the boy's ears and he sighed dejectedly.

"Damn it…if only I could reach my D-Arc!" Takato gasped as he strained against the web holding him.

"I wouldn't bother," a cruel, feminine voice hissed from above the boy. "Most Champion Digimon would have difficulty breaking free from my web, nevermind a pathetic human."

The immobilized group turned their heads as one and let out a simultaneous gasp of horror as they laid eyes on their captor. The creature was hideous, with the basic shape of an eight foot long black tarantula. Six of its legs were black and ended with pairs of thick, red claws, while a pair of dusky blue arms protruded from below its head, tipped with three-fingered hands clad in red gloves. The upper part of its head was obscured by a many-eyed, golden helm with long, black-striped horns. Below the helm were three sharp-fanged mouthparts, the skin the same dusky blue as that on its arms. The spider's thorax was covered in long, bristly, orange fur and its abdomen was emblazoned with a white skull-and-crossbones symbol.

"Dokugumon!" Gaomon growled, not needing a D-Arc to tell him the creature's stats.

_Name: Dokugumon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Poison Thread_

_Poison Cobweb_

"The pleasure is mine. Or at least, it will be when I'm feasting on your corpses!" Dokugumon replied with a cackle and clicked her mouthparts. "Now, which one of you shall be my appetiser…?"

The tarantula's pondering was interrupted by the arrival of a much smaller yellow-striped spider, about the size of a human head. The KoDokugumon whispered in its mistress' ear then scurried quickly away. Dokugumon turned to her captives with some approximation of a grin.

"Well, well…it seems that my feast just got bigger!"

* * *

"I don't like this…" Steph whispered as she padded quietly through the tunnels behind Rika and Renamon. "Are you sure you're reading that thing right?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Rika snapped without looking up from her D-Arc. "According to this, we're about a hundred metres away from them. And stop complaining - this was your idea!"

"Don't remind me…" the blonde-haired girl muttered and shuddered. "I keep feeling like there's somebody watching me…"

"It's just your imagination, Goldilocks. Try to ignore it."

"Yeah, well it doesn't help I can't see a thing down here - it's too dark!"

"Actually, she has a point Rika - even _I_ am beginning to struggle," Renamon whispered and glanced around. "Perhaps a Modify card would be in order?"

"Okay, how about this…**Digi-Modify! Candlemon's Flame activate!**"

An orange flame suddenly appeared hovering above Renamon's head, brightening considerably until the whole area was fully illuminated. The trio looked around at their surroundings and froze as they felt a sudden tide of fear flooding over them.

Apart from a six-foot wide circle around the group, every square inch of the walls, ceiling and floor were covered with KoDokugumon. The spiders hissed and gnashed their teeth as the sudden brightness assaulted their pale green eyes, returning to a state of statuesque stillness as soon as they had gotten over the shock.

"Don't…move…a muscle…" Renamon warned, sensing the growing panic from the girls behind her.

"Why did it have to be spiders?" Steph whimpered as she fought to control the rising tide of her arachnophobia.

"Why are they…just standing there?" Rika asked with a terrified shudder as she stared into the nearest KoDokugumon's eyes.

As one, the spiders let out a long, shrill scream and charged at the trio. Renamon leapt into action, unleashing a "**Diamond Storm!**" into the nearest cluster and disintegrating dozens of the spiders. Her efforts were quickly proven to be in vain as she was quickly overwhelmed by the tiny Digimon, several of them sinking their fangs into her flesh and flooding her body with venom. The tide of arachnids immediately turned its attention to the two humans, flooding towards them like a tidal wave. Rika screamed as a dozen KoDokugumon leapt at her, dragging her to the ground. One of the spiders quickly sank its fangs into her neck and she felt a burning pain as the venom flooded her body, dragging her down into the sweet release of unconsciousness.

* * *

Minutes Later

"Steph! Rika!" Cam called as the unconscious forms of his friends were dragged into the room by a tide of KoDokugumon. "Let them go you bastard!"

Dokugumon merely laughed at the boy's protests and webbed them to the wall alongside Renamon with a shout of "**Poison Cobweb!**". When the two girls were fully restrained, she dismissed her smaller servants with a hiss.

"Don't worry, boy," she cackled as she sniffed Rika's face hungrily. "They'll wake up soon enough. My little beauties' poison may be strong, but it wears off quickly. Saves me having to wait too long to play with my food."

"You're a monster!" Henry shouted, prompting another mad cackle from the tarantula.

"How observant of you!" she hissed and turned towards him before stopping as a muffled groan echoed from behind her. "Well, well…it looks like this one is a fighter!"

The massive arachnid turned and scuttled towards the softly-stirring form of Steph, placing her face mere inches away from the girl's. The blonde-haired girl groggily opened her eyes and immediately wished that she hadn't as she found herself eye-to-eye with a creature from her worst nightmares. She whimpered and recoiled as best she could, using every last ounce of willpower she had to prevent herself from screaming.

"Oh, yes…" Dokugumon chuckled and inhaled deeply. "Oh, your fear is exquisite! So rich, so strong. What's the matter, little girl? Don't you like spiders?"

Steph closed her eyes and turned her head away, unable to find the strength to think of a sarcastic reply.

"Oh, this is too much! I was planning on letting your Tamer friend wake up first, but I don't think I can wait that long to feast on you…" the monstrous Digimon hissed as she opened her jaws wide enough to swallow the girl whole.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Cam roared as the tarantula's fangs inched closer to the blonde girl's face, a white light bursting from his D-Arc as he did so.

**GUARDIAN SPIRIT ACQUIRED - DIGIVOLUTION UNLOCKED  
**  
**DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Gaomon, Digivolve to…Gaogamon**"

Gaomon was encased in a pale blue Data Sphere that quickly exploded to reveal the lupine form of Gaogamon, shredding the webs holding him in the process.

"Get away from her! **Spiral Blow!**" Gaogamon roared, a tornado erupting from his mouth and sending the arachnid crashing into the far wall.

"Filthy beast! Looks like I'll get a workout before my meal…**Poison Cobweb!**" Dokugumon shrieked and launched a spray of web at the blue-furred Digimon.

Gaogamon leapt at the nearest wall and bounded off of it with a call of "**Gaoga Hound!**", sailing over the attack and flying towards his opponent with his jaws open wide. The tarantula screamed as the wolf's jaws slammed shut around the foremost of her three right legs, tearing it off in a spray of digital blood. Gaogamon quickly took advantage of his foe's distraction, his scarf forming into a pair of claws that slashed at her other two right legs, tearing through the tough exoskeleton and slicing them clean off. Dokugumon screamed again as she collapsed onto her right side and lay there thrashing in a pool of her own blood. The wolf growled and took a few steps back from the wounded arachnid before triumphantly calling out his third attack.

"**Dash Double Claw!**" he roared and ran forwards, slashing at his opponent with his red-gloved forelegs. The long claws pierced her golden helmet, crushing her skull and reducing the Digimon to data fragments that were quickly absorbed by the wounded Renamon. The kitsune's eyes flared and a blue fire gathered around her paws, burning through the webs that held her in a matter of seconds.

"Thank you," she said simply and nodded to her lupine saviour before summoning the fire again and releasing each of the humans and Digimon in turn. She saved Rika until last, wanting to give her Tamer a chance to recover from the effects of the KoDokugumon bite. "Rika, wake up."

"Wha…?" the girl mumbled as she collapsed into her partner's arms. After a quick look around at her surroundings, she shuddered and buried her face in the kitsune's shoulder. _"I hate spiders…"_

"Rika, you okay?" Takato asked, his voice dripping with concern.

"I'm fine, Gogglehead," she replied as she shakily found her feet. "Just a little dizzy, that's all."

"Gaogamon, you were amazing!" Cam cheered and scratched his lupine partner behind the ear. "You totally ate her alive - literally!"

"I think the taste of that spider puts your mother's cooking into perspective…" Gaogamon replied with a toothy grin.

"Uh, guys? We have a problem…" Terriermon called and winced as he peered out into the dark tunnels to see thousands of glowing green eyes staring back at him. "Looks like her kids just got home…"

"There's gotta be hundreds of them!" Henry gasped as he reached for a Digivolution card, Steph whimpering and curling up into the foetal position behind him. "This is gonna be a tough one."

"Less talking, more fighting!" Rika shouted as she drew a card and closed her eyes, the card turning a bright blue a few seconds later. "**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

"**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

"**Renamon Matrix Digivolve to…Taomon!**"

"**Terriermon Digivolve to…Gargomon!**"

"Heh, it's times like this I wish I'd drawn Growlmon a little smaller," Takato chuckled ruefully and glanced up at the low ceiling. "**Digi-Modify! Power activate!**"

"Hit them with ranged attacks!" Rika called as the KoDokugumon charged towards them with a shriek. "Don't let them bite you!"

"**Spiral Blow!**"

"**Pyro Sphere!**"

"**Gargo Lasers!**"

"**Thousand Spells!**"

The barrage of attacks tore into the tide of spiders, reducing dozens of them to data which was quickly absorbed by their comrades. The four tamed Digimon launched a second volley, doing little to deter the arachnids.

"**Talisman Spell!**" Taomon called, summoning a shield to block the tunnel. "I cannot hold this barrier for long…"

"We need a plan!" Rika growled, trying not to look at the spiders as the other three Digimon continued pouring attacks into the KoDokugumon horde.

"Wait a second…" Henry mumbled and peered at the tunnel roof. "The roof over there has got a bunch of cracks in it! A couple of attacks ought to bring it down on top of the spiders!"

"Are you crazy? We'd be trapped in here!" Steph exclaimed in horror.

"We could dig our way out eventually using Digmon's Drill tactics cards."

"We don't know how deep we are - it could take us days!" Cam protested

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Actually, I do!" Takato exclaimed with a grin as he drew a card from his holder. "Everybody close your eyes…**Digi-Modify! Kokatorimon's Gaze activate!**"

As Guilmon's eyes began to glow green, everybody quickly followed the boy's command. The KoDokugumon screamed as one and stopped in their tracks as their bodies were encased in a layer of stone. When all noise had died down, the Tamers and Digimon opened their eyes again and were left speechless by the awesome sight that greeted them.

"Terracotta army, eat your heart out…" Gargomon mumbled, his Tamer nodding in agreement beside him.

"Okay…so, what do we do now?" Cam asked tentatively as Taomon dropped her shield with an exhausted sigh.

"We run!" Rika shouted, trying with a surprising amount of success to hide how much the sea of spiders had unnerved her. "That thing won't hold forever - Taomon, clear us a path."

"As you wish," the vulpine magician replied, producing her paintbrush from up her sleeve and drawing a symbol in mid-air. "**Talisman of Light!**"

The beam of energy cut a swathe through the field of statues, reducing dozens of them to rubble and providing a clear route of escape for the trapped Tamers. They set off through the newly-cleared path at a run, shaking off the last traces of the KoDokugumon's venom as they made their bid for freedom.

"They're starting to move!" Henry warned from the rear of the group as several of the statues began to quiver slightly.

"Now can I bring the roof down?" Gargomon asked as his Tamer cleared the tunnel, the horde of arachnids chittering as they broke free of their stony prisons.

"DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!" Steph shrieked as the spiders began scuttling towards them.

"**Digi-Modify! Power activate!**" Henry called as his partner aimed his arm-cannons at the roof.

"**Talisman Spell!**"

"**Gargo Lasers!**"

Taomon's hastily-erected shield trapped the KoDokugumon in the tunnel as a volley of supercharged energy bolts from Gargomon slammed into the tunnel roof, widening the fissures already present in the stonework. With an agonising cracking noise, a twenty-metre section of the tunnel roof collapsed onto the Digimon horde, crushing the vast majority of them to death and kicking up an enormous cloud of dust. Those few arachnids that survived swarmed towards Taomon's shield and were quickly picked off by a series of attacks from Guilmon and Gaogamon. As the last spider was reduced to data and absorbed, Taomon dropped the shield and let out a sigh of relief, falling to her knees and de-Digivolving to Renamon in a flash of light.

"Is it over?" Steph whimpered as the cloud of dust fell slowly back to the ground.

"It's over," Cam reassured her with a smile.

Rika breathed out a ragged sigh and slumped against the nearest wall, sliding to the ground as her adrenaline rush wore off. "I hate spiders…" she moaned and shuddered, her fear finally forcing its way through her mental barriers.

"Wait…_you're_ scared of spiders too?" the blonde-haired girl asked with a puzzled frown. "How did you not…you know…freak out like I did?"

"Practice," the redhead replied curtly and climbed shakily to her feet.

"So…Rika has a weakness?" Gargomon chuckled with an evil grin as he de-Digivolved.

"You can shut up right now, Bunny Boy!" Steph warned with a glare. "Or are you forgetting your mortal fear of a certain winged rat?"

"Hey, pigeons are pure evil!" the rabbit protested as he leapt onto his Tamer's head. "They always travel in those big groups, and stare at you with those evil little eyes…"

"Anyway…" Takato interrupted with a chuckle. "Can we focus on getting out of here?"

"Uh, how do you plan on doing that?" Cam asked with a frown as he looked around, seeing that they were at a three-way intersection between tunnels. "We were unconscious when we were dragged here, remember?"

"I can smell Rika!" Guilmon suddenly exclaimed, wincing and cowering in fear as he earned himself a glare from the redhead. "I mean, I can follow her smell to where she came from. Not that you smell bad or anything! I like your smell!"

"What?" the girl growled and clenched her fists.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" the saurian shrieked and hid behind his Tamer, quivering like an oversized plate of jelly. "Help me Takatomon!"

"Rika is not going to kill you," Renamon sighed and stood up slowly. "At least, she won't if you get us out of here in one piece."

"I can do that!" the red dinosaur exclaimed excitedly and leapt into action, sprinting down the middle tunnel at high speed.

"Wait for us, boy!" Takato called, chasing after his partner as the rest of the group broke into a run behind him.

* * *

Outskirts of Kirkfield Park - 1:01pm

"Finally!" Cam groaned as the group of humans and Digimon emerged into the chilly October afternoon. "I thought we were gonna be stuck down there forever…"

"Yeah, you really shouldn't have scared Guilmon so badly, Rika," Steph sighed. "The poor guy was tripping over his own feet trying to get us out of there."

"Whatever," the redhead muttered in reply, rolling her eyes as her iPhone reconnected to its network and chimed softly in her pocket. "Great, that'll be my ninety-nine missed calls from my psycho mum…"

The Tamer was proven correct as she pulled the phone from her pocket to see a "12 MISSED CALLS" warning on the screen.

"Wow, and I thought _my _mum was bad!" Takato chuckled as the redhead tapped the "CALL BACK" button and pressed the high-tech gadget to her ear.

"Hey, it's me. Sorry about…Miranda?" she frowned as the Nonaka family's housekeeper picked up the phone. "Where's mum and…what are they doing at the hospital?"

Takato began to worry as a look of terror passed across the girl's face.

"An accident? Are they okay?" she asked, panic working its way into her voice. "I'm…I'm on my way."

"Rika, what's going on?" Takato asked in a concerned voice.

"I…I have to go. My mum and grandma have been in a car crash," Rika replied, her voice quivering as she slashed a Recharge and a Digivolution card.

"Are they okay?" Steph piped up with a worried frown.

"I don't know. The hospital wouldn't tell Miranda anything 'cause she's just our housekeeper," the redhead answered as she climbed onto her partner's back, the kitsune setting off at a gallop a moment later.

"Damn…" the goggle-wearing Tamer mumbled and shook his head.

"Way to ruin our victory celebrations…" Terriermon complained, earning himself a half-hearted yet furious "Terriermon…" from his Tamer.


	17. Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Tear the World Down**

Sunday 24th October - 1:32pm

Dewsbury District Hospital

As soon as Miranda had parked outside the hospital, Rika flung open the car door and leapt out. She set off at a run for the ward where her mother and grandmother were staying, ignoring the occasional angry shout from a member of staff to slow down. As she rounded a corner and dodged around a poorly-placed table, the girl caught sight of her mother stood by a coffee machine, her left arm in a sling.

"Mum!" the redhead shouted and ran towards the woman, initiating one of the infamous Nonaka Death-Hugs for the first time in years.

"Rika," Rumiko whispered soothingly, returning the hug one-armed.

"What happened? Miranda said the hospital wouldn't tell her anything!"

"We were on our way to Leeds when another car crashed into the side of us. It looks like the brakes failed when they were driving down a hill."

"Where's grandma? Is she okay?" Rika asked as her mother led her towards a private room just off of the main ward.

"She was…she was hurt quite a lot worse than I was," the woman said hesitantly, stopping before she opened the room's door. "She's still unconscious but the doctors say she should be waking up tomorrow or the day after."

"Is she gonna be…?"

"The doctors think she'll be okay, but…" Rumiko sniffled and blinked away a tear. "There's a chance…a very, _very_ small chance…that she might not make it."

"I…can I see her?" the girl asked hesitantly as she let the information sink in.

The blonde-haired model nodded and opened the door slowly, revealing a small, well-lit room dominated by two large hospital beds. One of the beds was empty, while the other was occupied by Seiko, who was dressed in a pale blue hospital gown. The woman's left leg was in a plaster cast and her face was covered with an oxygen mask. The bulk of a thick layer of bandages could clearly be seen wrapped around her chest underneath the gown.

"Grandma…" Rika sighed and rushed to the woman's side, carefully taking hold of her left hand as a lone tear managed to escape and roll down her cheek. A wave of reassuring, soothing thoughts washed over the Tamer as Renamon made use of their telepathic connection.

Rumiko said nothing, merely putting a reassuring arm around her daughter and trying to hold back her own tears without much success. The pair stood there for several minutes before a gentle knock at the door woke them from their reverie.

"Come in," Rumiko called softly and was surprised to see Miranda walk in and close the door quietly behind her.

"Sorry I took so long. Hard to keep up with Rika in these shoes…" the short Irishwoman joked with a small, sad smile and looked at Seiko. "Is she…?"

"They think she'll be okay. There's only a small chance of…" Rumiko replied, trailing off with a shudder. "Thank you so much for bringing Rika here at such short notice. I know you were meant to be packing today…"

"Oh, don't worry about it!" the brunette replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "What about you, Rumiko? Are you alright?"

"Cuts and bruises mostly. I did manage to dislocate my shoulder though," she sighed and rolled her eyes, indicating the sling supporting her left arm. "Of course, the doctors are overreacting. They say they want to keep me in overnight for observation."

"Well, the doctors do know best. That's why they have all those fancy medical degrees!" Miranda said in a stern, maternal voice. "I can't have you running around and doing yourself an injury so soon after an accident, can I?"

"Even if I did stay, there's still the issue of who would look after Rika."

"Oh, I can do that!" the housekeeper replied with another wave of her hand. "I do have two kids of my own, remember?"

"I couldn't let you do that!" Rumiko protested. "You'd have to cancel your holiday to Spain - you've been looking forward to it for months."

"Pah! I can reschedule, the family won't mind. Besides, do you have any other ideas?"

"Actually…" Rika mumbled softly and looked up from her grandmother's unconscious form. "…I might have one."

* * *

Matsuki Family Bakery - 1:48pm

"Takato, can you get that?" a woman's voice shouted over the incessant ringing of the bakery telephone.

"Okay, mum!" Takato shouted in reply as he paused his Xbox game and quickly ran downstairs to answer the phone. "Matsuki Family Bakery, how can I help you?"

_["Gogglehead?"]_ a familiar voice erupted from the speaker and the boy frowned in concern as he recognized the speaker.

"Rika, hey. How are your mum and grandma?"

_["My mum's okay, she dislocated her shoulder but that's about it. My grandma…she's still unconscious. The doctors think she's gonna be fine, but they don't…know for sure…"]_

"I…damn…" Takato whispered, not sure how to reply. "Look, if you need anything…"

_["That's kinda why I called,"] _the girl replied, pausing for a second before she continued in an uncomfortable tone. _["The doctors want to keep my mum in overnight to keep an eye on her, and I've got…nowhere to go."]_

"I can ask my parents if you can stay here if you want," the boy offered. "They shouldn't mind since it's kind of an emergency."

_["I…thanks Goggles."]_

"Don't go anywhere, I'll be back in a minute," he said and quickly ran downstairs to the bakery kitchen. After quickly explaining the situation to his mother (and using his best 'puppy-dog' eyes) he managed to force an agreement out of the woman and ran back upstairs to give his friend the good news. "My mum says it's okay. Do you need picking up from the hospital, or…?"

_["I think I can get a lift back to my place. I'll pick up some stuff and meet you there at about four?"]_

"Yeah, that's fine. See you at four, I guess."

_["Thanks again Gogglehead. I owe you one."]_

"Hey, don't make me make another 'What are Friends For?' speech!" Takato joked, drawing a tiny chuckle from the redhead.

_["Not that again…crap, gotta go. Getting a dirty look from a nurse for using my phone."]_

"See ya."

* * *

Dewsbury District Hospital - 1:52pm

Rika breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up the phone and turned to her mother. "They said yes."

"Good," Rumiko replied with a small smile. "I still think this is unnecessary…"

"Rumiko Nonaka, don't make me chain you to that bed," Miranda warned with a glare. "Doctors and old Irish mothers know best!"

"Yes, ma'am…" the blonde-haired woman sighed and rolled her eyes. Glancing at her daughter, she noticed that she had reverted to her worried, introverted stare at her grandmother's injured form. Seeing an opportunity to distract the girl (as well as get in some gentle teasing), the woman turned to her with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Hmmm…'Gogglehead'…what an odd name for a child."

"Gogglehead is just his nickname," Rika replied and rolled her eyes. "His real name is Takato Matsuki."

"Oh, of course - I remember him! He stood up for you in that fight. His parents own the bakery, yes?" Rumiko asked, continuing when her daughter nodded warily. "So, does everyone call him 'Gogglehead' or is it just you?"

"Just…me…" the redhead replied through clenched teeth, knowing _exactly_ where her mother was going.

"Oh, so it's a little pet name you have for him! How cute…"

"It's not a _pet name_," the girl growled.

"Of course not dear," the woman replied with an even smile. "He seemed like a nice boy when I met him - quite good-looking too. And he can cook…"

"Mum…" Rika warned her mother, turning to glare at her as she spoke. As the girl turned her head, Rumiko noticed something that immediately replenished her dwindling stock of verbal ammunition.

"Rika…what's that on your neck?"

The redhead frowned and turned to look in the small mirror on her grandmother's bedside table. There was a large, rash-like red mark on her neck where the KoDokugumon had bitten her.

"Oh, I um…got bitten by an insect," she replied, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Really?" her mother asked innocently and took a sip of her coffee. "For a second there, I could have sworn it was a lovebite…"

"MUM!"

* * *

The trio spent the next hour talking about whatever came to mind - the accident, work, school, Rika's '_unique_' taste in music, Seiko's famous super-sushi and (of course) the weather were the main topics discussed. Rumiko told them that the driver of the other car - a woman called Jane Robinson in her late twenties - had been badly injured in the crash and was in a critical condition in the room just across the hall. Eventually, Miranda and Rika were forced to leave so that the woman could pack for her holiday and the girl could pack for her brief stay at the Matsuki Bakery. As they left Rumiko with the still-unconscious Seiko, Rika glanced through the open door of the room opposite her mother and grandmother's, seeing a brown-haired woman swathed in bandages and connected to a series of monitors and machines. At Jane's side were an older, grey-haired nurse and a girl of about seven with long, reddish-brown hair. The little girl turned, sensing Rika's eyes upon her, and stared sadly at the Tamer with tear-filled eyes. The older girl blinked away a tear as she looked at the stranger's face and saw that she was obviously Jane's daughter. A frown of confusion passed across the younger girl's face as she stared into Rika's eyes, a frown which the Tamer quickly matched as she met the girl's gaze and stared into a pair of violet eyes identical to her own.

* * *

Rika arrived at the Matsuki Bakery not long after 4pm and was immediately subjected to a barrage of questions from Mei Matsuki. As the questions started to move away from the topic of her mother and grandmother's health and towards the nature of her 'relationship' with Takato, the boy's father quickly came to the girl's rescue (but not before a quick wink and a thumbs-up to his son). Takato, of course, apologized repeatedly for his parents' behaviour as the Tamers made their way up to his bedroom and Rika began unpacking her backpack. Along with all the basics needed for her overnight stay, she had also brought her Digimon cards and a few Xbox games with her at Takato's suggestion as a way to keep her mind off of things. Aside from a wonderful meal prepared by Takehiro and a quick walk to visit Calumon and Guilmon, their evening was mostly occupied by Rika annihilating the boy in both the card game and the 'Versus' mode of every video game they played. Eventually, both of them tired of the repetitive results and opted for some high-difficulty co-operative missions on a host of different games. The high levels of concentration required for the games meant that the redhead's mind was far too busy to be thinking about anything other than how not to get smashed to a pulp in the next boss fight. Unfortunately, she was jolted back to reality at around 10:30pm by Mei, who decided that it was finally time for the two children to get some sleep.

* * *

Matsuki Family Bakery - 10:34pm

Rika glanced quickly at the bathroom mirror as she pulled on her lilac pyjamas and tugged the sleeves down to cover her scarred wrists. With a defeated sigh, the girl reached up and quickly pulled out her hairband, letting her hair fall down and frame her pale face. She gathered her discarded clothes up in her arms and unlocked the bathroom door, making her way to Takato's bedroom and knocking gently.

"Goggles, can I come in?" she called.

"Yeah, sure," he replied as Rika twisted the doorknob and shouldered the door open.

Takato was laid on his bed reading a '.Hack' manga and wearing a pair of dark blue pyjamas. As his fellow Tamer entered the room, he looked up with a grin.

"Wow, I was beginning to wonder if you ever let your hair down!" he joked and went back to his manga. "How come you never let it down at school or anything?"

"I hate having my hair down," the redhead growled in reply. "I only let it down to sleep 'cause it gets tied up in a giant knot if I don't."

"You don't like it? I think it looks nice…" the boy said, then winced and chuckled darkly. "Wow, good thing my mum didn't hear that - she's paranoid enough as it is."

"Hmmm…" Rika mumbled as she carefully retrieved what looked like a stuffed Viximon doll from her backpack.

"Hey, I wondered where Renamon was! What's she been doing in there all this time?"

"That's…not Renamon…" she replied and shuffled her feet in embarrassment.

"Oh…" Takato said as realisation dawned on him. "Um…you're not embarrassed about that are you?"

"What do you think?" the girl sighed as she flopped onto the mattress laid at the side of the boy's bed.

"I think I've got just as much reason to be embarrassed as you," he chuckled and reached under his bed, retrieving a ragged old teddy bear.

"Whoa…that thing's gotta be as old as you!" Rika smirked as she settled in under her borrowed covers.

"Older, actually…my grandma had it made for me when my mum got pregnant," the boy laughed, breaking off with a wince as a depressed look formed on his friend's face. _Oh, great going moron! You just reminded her about her grandma!_ "Look, Rika…if you need to talk or anything…"

"Thanks Goggles," she replied sadly and rolled over, hugging the Viximon doll to her chest.

"No problem…wait, now I'm curious - where _is _Renamon?" Takato asked after a few seconds, hoping to take the girl's mind off things.

Rika closed her eyes for a second before answering with a small chuckle. "She decided to sleep at Gaomon's Grove so she wouldn't have to put up with Calumon all night. Unfortunately, the little cream puff found her and decided to drag Dino Boy along and turn it into a sleepover."

"Oh, great…" the boy groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told him to stay in his den…"

"To be fair, Calumon can be pretty convincing. Sometimes I think he's not as dumb as he seems."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure Guilmon just didn't listen to me as usual," he replied and rolled his eyes. "So…what's the story behind the Viximon doll? I mean, if it's not too personal…"

"It's okay," the redhead replied with a shrug. "It was a 'thank you' present from Jeri. I saved her and Leomon from a swarm of FlyBeemon."

"Wait, we're meant to get each other presents when we save each other's lives?"

"No, or we'd both be bankrupt right now from buying each other stuff. Jeri's the only one who ever did it - she's just a little weird that way. And she only did it the one time anyway."

"Oh, okay," Takato chuckled and yawned. "Man, I'm exhausted…at least we don't have school for a week. G'night, Rika."

"Goodnight, Gogglehead."

* * *

_"Renamon…I'm scared."_

_"Rika…"_

_"If grandma…if she doesn't…I don't know what I'll do."_

_"Seiko is a very strong woman and from what I can tell, the doctors in England are of excellent quality. She will survive - I am sure of it."_

_"But what if she doesn't? Before you came along, she was always there for me when there was nobody else. If she…dies…then you'll be the only one who…"_

_"Your grandmother is not going to die, Rika. I can sense it. She is strong - much stronger than you realize. And you are wrong - even if she does not make it, your friends and your mother will all be there for you as well as myself. You are not alone."

* * *

_

Monday 25th October - 12:30pm

Dewsbury District Hospital

_She's gonna be fine…she's gonna be fine…she's gonna be fine…_ Rika repeated to herself mentally, a constant stream of soothing thoughts from Renamon complimenting the chant as she walked along the corridor towards her grandmother's hospital room accompanied by Takato and Takehiro Matsuki. Takehiro had offered to drive Rumiko home from the hospital and Takato had come along in case Rika needed any emotional support. Both mental voices halted abruptly, however, as the girl caught sight of her mother stood crying outside the room Seiko had been moved to.

"M-mum?" Rika stammered, her heart seizing up with fear as she walked slowly towards the crying woman. "Is…is grandma…?"

"I'm fine, dear," a voice croaked from inside the room and the redhead turned to see her grandmother sat up in bed wearing a pained smile.

"Grandma!" she shouted with an ecstatic smile and ran towards the woman, embracing her in a careful hug. "Are you okay? When did you wake up?"

"A few hours ago," Seiko replied, hugging her granddaughter back as best she could. "The doctors say I'm going to make a full recovery. Don't look so surprised, dear - it'll take more than that to finish me off!"

"I know, it's just…when I saw mum outside crying, I…"

"Crying?" the brunette asked with a frown. "Rumiko, what's the matter?"

The blonde-haired woman stepped hesitantly into the room, wiping away her tears with the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry…I wanted to tell you before Rika got here, but…" she trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing, Takato and Takehiro appearing at the door as she began to speak again. "Jane Robinson - the driver of the other car - just died."

A stunned silence descended on the room as everyone tried to absorb the information.

"Are you…are you sure?" Seiko asked eventually, eliciting a nod from her daughter.

"Yes. I went back to the ward we were staying on to pick up my jacket and when I arrived…they had just given up trying to resuscitate her."

Silence descended again as Seiko began crying quietly and pulled Rumiko and Rika into a group hug. After several minutes, the blonde-haired woman finally seemed to notice the presence of the two Matsukis.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, drying her eyes and standing up straight. "Thank you again for offering us a ride home. You probably need to get back to the bakery…"

"No, it's alright," the elder Matsuki replied with a gentle shake of his head. "Take as long as you need - my wife and Rinchei will be fine for the afternoon."

Rumiko nodded and the quintet quickly engaged in idle conversation, discussing every topic under the sun. After about an hour, there was a gentle knock at the door and a young, dark-haired doctor stepped into the room carrying a blue folder stuffed with papers.

"I'm sorry to interrupt - Ms Nonaka, could I speak to you outside?" he asked, looking at Rumiko with a sad expression. "This shouldn't take long."

"Of course," the woman replied, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. "So, what is this about?"

"As you may have heard, Miss Robinson died earlier today."

"Yes, I…I heard about that," Rumiko replied, blinking away a tear. "She…she had a daughter, didn't she? What's going to happen to her?"

"That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about," the doctor answered, prompting a confused frown to appear on the blonde-haired woman's face. "The girl is in state-organized care at the moment. According to our records, she has no living relatives on her mother's side and her father left before she was born."

"The poor thing…have you managed to track down her father?"

"Not yet, but you might be able to help with that. This might just be an odd coincidence of name, but have you ever seen this man?" the doctor asked and pulled a photo out of his folder.

Rumiko stared at the photograph in open-mouthed shock. The man was in his early twenties, pale-skinned with short, red hair and piercing violet eyes. It looked like the picture had been taken at a pub or bar somewhere, as he was surrounded by people drinking. There was a woman hanging off of his arm that Rumiko vaguely recognized as a much younger version of the late Jane Robinson. Her fears were confirmed as she read the name handwritten on the back of the photo.

"Are you sure this man is her father?"

"Yes, we are. This photograph was taken back in 2002, so he may have changed since th-"

"I know him," the woman interrupted and slumped onto a chair next to the door to her mother's room. "I wish I didn't, but…I know him."

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 4:20pm

Rika frowned in concern as her mother slumped onto the living room sofa with a sigh. Ever since she had spoken to that doctor, she had been quiet and withdrawn, barely even acknowledging events around her. This was completely unlike her normal, overly-talkative self, so the girl was understandably worried. The woman had then spent over two hours after they had arrived home making hushed telephone calls locked in her room, using her mobile instead of the landline so that Rika couldn't listen in. After a few minutes of silence, the redhead finally worked up the courage to confront the woman.

"Mum…what's going on?" she asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean dear?" Rumiko replied absent-mindedly and gently bit her top lip, not meeting her daughter's gaze.

"I'm twelve, not stupid," Rika snorted. "You've been acting weird ever since that doctor talked to you. Plus, you have a tell when you're lying about something. So, what did he tell you?"

"Rika…you may want to sit down for this," the woman sighed, motioning to the spare seat next to her on the sofa.

"Mum, what's going on?" the girl asked as she sat down, genuine worry working its way into her heart. "Are you sick? Is grandma sick?"

"No, it's nothing like that. We're both fine," she replied. "I only found this out today, but…you have a sister."


	18. Chapter 18

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: Family**

Monday 25th October - 4:24pm

Nonaka Residence

"I…I…" Rika stammered, trying to get her head around the new information. "You're…pregnant again?"

"What? No!" Rumiko exclaimed in surprise. "I'm not her mother…she's technically your half-sister."

"Half…"

"When you were four, your father went to England for his mother's funeral. You probably won't remember - you were too young," the woman started, blinking in surprise as her daughter shook her head and spoke up.

"I remember…I remember missing him…I remember counting the days until he came back."

"You cried so hard when he left, and when he came back you were…" Rumiko trailed off, a tear in her eye. "You were so happy…"

Rika clenched her fists and looked at the floor. _I won't cry over him…won't let him get to me…he…is…__**nothing**__…_

"What happened in England?" she asked through gritted teeth. "You obviously brought it up for a reason."

"I did some digging around and I found out that while he was in England he…" the blonde-haired woman gulped as a tear ran down her cheek, the betrayal still hurting despite all that had happened. "He had a drunken affair with a woman who lived not far from here and got her pregnant. He left the country before he found out about the baby and the woman couldn't get in touch to tell him about it."

"The woman he…got pregnant," Rika started hesitantly and looked up. "Was it Jane Robinson?"

"How did you…?"

"I…when I visited you and grandma the first time, I saw a girl with her. She had the same eyes as me…" she mumbled, trailing off as a horrible realization struck her. "Oh, gods…her mum…"

"I know," her mother sobbed and pulled her into a tight hug (more for the woman's benefit, Rika suspected, than for hers).

"What's going to happen to her?" the girl asked as soon as she had freed herself of the death-grip.

"I don't…I guess that's up to you," Rumiko sighed, elaborating when she noticed her daughter's confused look. "She doesn't have any living relatives or anybody who was named as guardian in her will. She's going to be sent to a foster family until the government can find her a permanent home."

"Okay, but how is this anything to do with me?"

"Your grandma and I have been talking, and we came up with a plan. I have some friends who have connections with the government. I've spoken to them and they said that if I wanted, they could make sure that we are allowed to adopt the girl," the woman replied, leaning down slightly and looking her daughter in the eye. "Rika…I will only go through with this if you want me to. I don't want to do anything if you're not okay with it."

Rika blinked and looked away, her mind a mess of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Needing a second opinion and some advice, she reached out telepathically to Renamon.

_"Rika, this is not something I can help you with," _came the gentle reply. _"Only you can know what lies in your heart."_

"What…what's her name?" the girl asked eventually, looking back to her mother.

"Samantha," she replied.

"I…I need to think about it," Rika mumbled and stood up. "I'm going for a walk."

* * *

Rika barely even noticed where she was walking, simply letting her feet carry her wherever they wanted. She wandered out of the back door in the kitchen and through the forest into Kirkfield Park. The girl was vaguely aware of Renamon following her, but paid the kitsune little notice. She strolled through the park for over half an hour before her feet carried her away, past Redcliff Mount School and down the road towards the Matsuki Family Bakery.

* * *

Matsuki Family Bakery - 5:02pm

"Rika, hey there!" a man's voice called, waking the girl from her reverie. "Everything okay?"

Rika blinked and looked up into the smiling face of Takehiro Matsuki. She shook off her surprise and spoke, the words barely even registering as they left her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Is Takato here? I need to talk to him about something."

"Sure, I'll go get him," the man replied and wandered off to find his son.

_Where the hell did that come from?_ the girl wondered and shook her head in bewilderment. _Come to think of it…I don't even remember walking here…_

"Hey, Rika!" a familiar voice called and the redhead turned to see the grinning face of everybody's favourite Gogglehead.

"Hey, Goggles," she replied, glancing around quickly.

"So, my dad said you wanted to talk to me about something," the boy said cheerfully, frowning as his fellow Tamer shook her head and mouthed the words 'not here'. "Actually, do you mind if we head round to the park? I could use some fresh air."

"Yeah, sure."

Takato quickly shouted to his parents that he was going out, receiving strict orders from his mother to be back by six in reply. The two Tamers walked towards the park at a leisurely pace, neither of them saying a word throughout the journey. When they reached Gorilla Clearing they sat down on a log, breathing in the cool dusk air for a few minutes before breaking the silence.

"So…" Takato ventured with a concerned glance at the girl. "What's up?"

"Okay," Rika sighed and took a deep breath. "What I tell you doesn't go any further than us two - you can't even tell Guilmon."

"Heh, Terriermon would probably try to blackmail it out of him if he found out he knew something."

"Exactly. There's parts of this I can't tell you - parts that I can't really tell anyone about - so I might not make a lot of sense at times."

"No problem," the boy replied with a friendly smile. "Just talk about whatever you feel comfortable with."

Rika started talking, explaining a basic outline of the events of the past day. Takato listened attentively as the girl related the story of James Nonaka's affair and the horrible coincidence that led to her family's quite literal collision with that of Samantha and Jane Robinson. She finished the tale with the choice her mother had given her and waited patiently for her friend's reply.

"Whoa," he said eventually and shook his head. "So, you don't know whether to tell your mum yes or no?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I guess I just needed a second opinion on all this," the redhead shrugged in reply. "I mean, she's my sister. She's gotta be better off with me and my mum and grandma than with some strangers, right? I'm the only family she has left and I…I don't want her to feel as alone as I used to…"

Takato noticed the girl rubbing at her wrists absent-mindedly and immediately caught on to the unspoken implication. "Well, I'm not exactly an expert with the whole adoption thing," he said slowly with a small frown. "Did you think about maybe talking to Steph about this?"

"Steph? Why her?"

"You mean you don't know?" he asked with a surprised look on his face. "Steph's adopted."

"She is?"

"Yeah, I thought you knew."

"Huh…that explains a couple of weird things Cam said. I thought he was just going nuts at the time."

"Well, it's usually a pretty safe bet to make," the boy chuckled. "So, do you wanna talk to Steph? I can show you where she lives."

"Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the Tamers returned to the clearing with Steph in tow. Rika gave the blonde-haired girl a similar warning to the one she had given Takato before she began her story, telling her exactly what she had told the boy. As the redhead trailed off into silence, a thoughtful look passed across Steph's face.

"Hmmm…" she mumbled and scratched the back of her neck. "I don't really know what to tell you. I mean, sure, if it was me I guess I'd want to be with someone who was family…and at least your mum's way she'd definitely get a home…"

"You mean there's a chance she wouldn't?" Rika asked with a worried frown.

"Yeah I guess," the blonde-haired girl replied and shrugged. "People don't always want to adopt an older kid - they'd rather have a baby. She'd probably still get adopted and she'd be going to a good family, but it might take a little while."

The Tamer nodded and matched her friend's thoughtful look with one of her own. "I guess it'd be the best thing then…"

"Best for her, maybe - and it is a big 'maybe'. And Rika…look, I know this is gonna sound like some weirdo American psychiatrist, but…what do _you_ feel?"

"I…I don't know…" the girl sighed and shook her head. "I mean, I want to help her, but…I'm so confused."

"I have an idea," Takato piped up, earning him a worried look from the two girls. "Have you seen that episode of 'Friends' where Joey does that thing where he gets asked a bunch of questions and has to answer them as quick as he can without thinking?"

"That has got to be the dumbest…" Rika started to say, then sighed and shook her head. "Oh, whatever. I guess it can't hurt to try."

"Okay, close your eyes and relax…" the boy ordered, thinking of a series of questions to ask as he did so. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue."

"What's your favourite song?"

"Daybreak's Bells."

As the rapid-fire interrogation continued, Steph felt an evil idea beginning to form in her mind. She spoke up after Takato had asked Rika her favourite Xbox game, barely able to suppress her laughter as she asked her question.

"Who's cuter - Ryo or Henry."

"Ry-" the redhead started to say then caught herself, glaring daggers at the blonde-haired girl. "You are _so_ dead…"

"Keep going! What's your favourite band?" Takato barked, drawing her back into the right mindset. A couple of questions later, the boy finally asked the big question.

"Do you want your sister to live with you?"

"Yes!" Rika replied quickly, then opened her eyes as she realized what she had said. "Yes…"

_"Only you can know what lies in your heart…" _Renamon's voice chuckled lightly in her head. _"…but sometimes it takes another to unlock the doors."

* * *

_

Nonaka Residence - 5:55pm

Rumiko practically leapt off of the leather sofa as she heard the back door open. She walked quickly to the kitchen, coming face-to-face with her daughter.

"Hey," the blonde-haired woman said softly with a small smile. "Look, I don't expect you to decide this immediately - take as long as y-"

"I've decided," Rika interrupted, looking into her mother's eyes with an unreadable gaze.

"You…have?" the woman said and blinked in surprise, waiting patiently for the girl's answer. Rika stood there for a moment before closing her eyes and mumbling one word.

"Yes."

An ecstatic smile spread across Rumiko's face as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "Rika…"

The girl squirmed in her grip, uncomfortable with the sudden physical contact. Eventually, the woman got the picture and released her with a slightly more moderated smile.

"I need to make a few phone calls and get everything sorted out," she said softly and turned to head back to the living room.

"Uh, mum?" Rika called, causing the woman to stop in her tracks. "When will I get to meet her?"

"If everything goes well, she should have moved in by the end of the week. I'll make sure you get the chance to see her at least once before then," Rumiko replied and looked thoughtful for a second. "Hmmm…actually, I'm feeling pretty hungry. Think I'll make dinner before I call the agency! Does sushi sound okay?"

Her daughter winced and turned even paler than usual before she replied. "Uh, mum…the last time you, erm…'cooked' was back in 2005 and I was sick for a week."

"Oh, right…" the woman mumbled and grinned sheepishly. "I'll go order a pizza…"

* * *

Rumiko had everything arranged by the end of the night. Rika would meet Samantha at her temporary home on Thursday afternoon and if all went well, the girl would be moving in with them by Sunday. For the first time in her life, the Tamer found herself grateful for the connections and privileges offered by her mother's career. Fortunately, the Digital World appeared to be respecting Rika's earlier wishes for a week of rest and relaxation, allowing her plenty of free time. The first Bio-emergence of the half-term holiday came on Wednesday, when the two Nonakas were busy visiting Seiko at the hospital. The emerging Digimon - a BlackGabumon with some serious anger-management issues - was dealt with quickly and efficiently by Cam and Gaomon, the fight ending several minutes before anyone else could appear on the scene.

As Thursday drew closer, Rika began to feel more and more nervous about her meeting with her sister. She ended up bringing Henry and Cam in on the secret on Wednesday afternoon when she realized that she had no idea how to handle young children. Since one of the boys had a sister the same age as Sam and the other had the same mental age, she thought they would be an excellent source of information. Cam actually showed a surprising level of restraint and sensitivity in respect to making jokes, as did Terriermon (after Cam 'borrowed' Henry's D-Arc and slashed a Rock Armour card). The blue-haired Tamer's advice helped to calm the girl's nerves considerably and when Thursday afternoon arrived, she entered her sister's temporary home with a surprising amount of confidence.

* * *

Thursday 28th October - 2:30pm

Kingdom Family Residence, Gomersal

The house where Samantha was staying was quite large. Judging by the exterior, Rika would have guessed that it had at least four or five bedrooms. The girl took a deep breath as her mother rang the doorbell and waited patiently for an answer. The answer came in the form of a tall, jolly-looking man of about fifty, with short grey hair and a warm smile.

"Hi there, you must be Rumiko and Rika Nonaka. I'm David Kingdom," he said in a friendly tone. "Please, come in. Sorry about the mess…"

Rika tuned the two adults out as they exchanged the usual pleasantries and took a quick look around the interior of the house. Despite the fact that the house was incredibly messy, it was obvious that the Kingdoms were quite well off. The girl glanced into each room as they walked past it, counting five children of a variety of races aged between four and ten scattered around the ground floor. The thunderous noise of stampeding feet reverberating through the ceiling told her that there were several more children upstairs.

"…have nine children currently staying with us, including Samantha," David said as the redhead tuned back in. The man led the pair into a kitchen that looked more like the aftermath of an artillery strike than a place to prepare food. "Can I offer you something to drink? Tea perhaps, or some orange juice?"

"Tea would be lovely, thank you. Two sugars please," Rumiko replied as her daughter mumbled a polite "No, thank you."

"You'll be able to go see her in a couple of minutes," the man said as he poured two cups tea. "My wife is just clearing the upstairs of the other children."

Right on cue, a trio of children stampeded down the stairs, charging past the open kitchen door and into the living room. David carefully carried the mugs of tea over to the table, setting one in front of Rumiko and taking a sip from the second one himself.

"Please don't be offended by this question, but I was wondering - will both of you be going to see Samantha or just Rika?"

"No offence taken," the blonde-haired woman smiled and took a sip of her own tea. "Rika wanted to go in alone, which is fine with me if it's fine with you."

"I don't see any problem with it," he smiled in return, glancing at the door as a short, grey-haired woman in her fifties entered the kitchen. "This is my wife, Beatrice. I assume this means that…?"

"Yes," Beatrice replied with a warm smile. "Samantha is waiting for you upstairs. I can take you up now, if you'd like."

"Please," Rika replied softly as she stood up and followed the woman out of the room. Beatrice led her up the stairs, taking a left and halting outside a featureless cream-painted door.

"Samantha?" the portly woman called and knocked on the door gently before opening it to reveal a pink-painted room with two beds - one single and one bunk. A pale-skinned girl with reddish-brown hair was sat on the single bed, drawing in pencil crayons on a sheet of white paper. Rika immediately recognized her as the girl from the hospital when she turned around, revealing a pair of sad, violet eyes and a face that bore a distinct resemblance to her late mother's. "Samantha, this is Rika. We talked about her earlier, remember?"

The little girl nodded and returned to her drawing. Beatrice gently pushed Rika into the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the sisters alone together. The redhead stood there for a moment, shifting her feet uncomfortably, before she took a few steps forward and sat down on the bed next to Samantha.

"Hi," the Tamer said eventually, her voice uncharacteristically nervous.

"Hi," her sister replied, not looking up from her picture.

"What are you drawing?" Rika asked, desperately searching for a topic to talk about.

Samantha handed her the picture without a word. It showed a large, green field filled with flowers, a small stick-figure stood at the centre of the field. The stick figure appeared to be a girl, but was so small it was difficult to tell. Rika peered closely, and could just make out that it had long, brown hair and a sad expression.

"That girl in the middle of the picture looks lonely. Who is she?" the redhead asked despite knowing the answer already.

"Me…" the younger girl replied, a heartbreakingly miserable expression plastered across her face.

The Tamer didn't know how to reply. Inwardly cursing her social awkwardness, the older girl hesitantly put her right hand on her sister's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "Do you feel lonely?"

The girl nodded, barely acknowledging the physical contact. "Mrs Bea said that you were my sister, but we don't have the same mummy."

"I…yeah, that's right."

"Do we have the same daddy?"

Rika felt her insides churn at the innocent question. "Y-yes."

"Mrs Bea said that I might be going to live with you soon. Does that mean I'll be living with daddy?"

"No," the redhead replied, feeling both her anger and depression flaring at the same time. When she had them under control again, she continued. "Our dad…he left when I was five."

"Did he die too?"

_I wish…_ "No, he just…he just ran away."

"Why did he do that?" Samantha asked in a horrified tone. "My mummy always said that family is the most important thing!"

"Tell that to James Nonaka…" Rika muttered bitterly and clenched her free hand into a fist.

"Are you angry?" the younger girl asked, looking sadly at her older sister as she nodded. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault," the Tamer sighed and glanced at the girl. "I just…I don't like talking about him. Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay, like what?"

"Ummm…how old are you?"

"Seven years old," the brunette said proudly, her depressed look almost lifting for a brief moment. "I'll be eight on the eighteenth of November."

_Damn, there goes my next question…_ Rika thought bitterly as she quickly came up with a new one. "So, which school do you go to?"

"Tong First School. Mrs Bea says that I'll have to go to a new school 'cause my old one is too far away."

"I think she's right," the redhead replied thoughtfully. Tong was over five miles away from Rika's house, making it quite a long trip to and from school for the girl.

"I'm glad I don't have to go back there," Samantha said, her depressed look contrasting with her positive words.

"Why, don't you like it there?"

"No, I hate it!" she replied with a surprising amount of venom. "All the other kids are mean to me and call me names. They steal my stuff and hide it, then chase me around when I try to tell the teacher."

Rika flinched as she remembered her own, hauntingly similar experiences at her first school. "What do you do when they chase you?"

"I run away. Everyone's bigger than me and they push me around if I let them catch me."

The older girl bent down and looked her sister in the eye. "Samantha…when you go to your new school, I want you to tell me if anybody ever picks on you," she growled, feeling surprisingly protective of her younger sibling. "I'll go find them and make sure they _never_ bully you again."

"Really?" the seven-year-old gasped, an overjoyed expression on her face. "Thank you!"

"Hey, what are older sisters for? We're family - we have to stick together." the Tamer chuckled. _Note to self: thank Takato for the line…_

The two sat in silence for a minute before Samantha spoke up. "Sam."

"Huh?"

"I don't like being called Samantha," the brunette explained. "I like Sam better."

"Then why does, um…'Mrs Bea' still call you Samantha?" Rika asked, a confused expression on her face.

"I never told her not to," Sam shrugged, looking thoughtful. "I don't like her enough to tell her."

"Okay…" the older girl said, trying to work out what her sister was saying. "So, only people you like get to call you Sam?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"Wow, um…thanks," the redhead said and blinked in surprise. "So, why don't you like Mrs Bea? Is she mean to you?"

"No, I just…don't _like _her. She smiles too much."

"Yeah, that can get a little annoying," the Tamer smirked and shook her head. "So, who else do you let call you Sam?"

"Just you and…mum…" the younger girl mumbled, trailing off as her depressed expression reappeared and her eyes filled with tears.

Rika didn't say a word, instead putting one arm around the quietly-crying girl's shoulders in a slightly awkward hug. Sam turned and leapt at her sister, wrapping her arms around the older girl's midsection and pulling her into a painfully-tight embrace. The redhead was stunned for a few seconds, not knowing how to react to the sudden development, before she hesitantly wrapped her arms around Sam's shoulders, returning the hug gently.

* * *

Rika's meeting with her sister had gone much better than she had dared hope. The pair had forged an unspoken bond and the older girl couldn't help but look forward to Sunday, when Sam would be moving in to the Nonaka residence. Meanwhile, there was a distinct lack of any real Digimon activity, giving almost all of the Tamers a much needed break. Rika, however, was kept even busier than usual, as her grandmother was discharged from hospital on Friday and the redhead spent the weekend helping her mother to look after the injured woman and prepare for Sam's arrival.

When Sunday finally came around, Rika took an odd pleasure in the stunned look on her sister's face as the younger girl caught sight of her new home. After a relatively brief tour of the house and its grounds, Sam was allowed to choose one of the three guest rooms to call her own. She chose the room closest to Rika's, directly across the hall, and was delighted to learn that she would be allowed to decorate it to her tastes at a later date. Rumiko, on the other hand, was delighted to discover that her adopted daughter had a tolerance for all things pink and girly that was much closer to 'normal' than that of her 'blood' daughter. Sam's tolerance only extended so far, however, and Rika had to throw her mother out of the younger girl's room when she dragged a life-size fluffy pink unicorn in through the door. Apparently, the woman had been keeping it in a box in the attic "just in case we needed it".

Eventually, Sam was allowed some time alone in her new room, and Rika took this opportunity to communicate telepathically with Renamon. The kitsune was surprised to learn that her Tamer did not want to reveal her existence to her younger sister, and was even more surprised when she heard the girl's reason.

_"She's been through enough. If she finds out about the whole Digimon thing, she might get dragged into it. If that happens, she'll just get put in danger all the time and I don't want her to have to fight and put up with all the stuff we do."_

_"I understand and will respect your decision, though I do not agree with it. Keeping her ignorant of the Digimon threat will only endanger her more and there is still a good chance that she will get caught in the crossfire of an emergence anyway, much like Cam and Steph did. If she does not know what to expect, she will be in even greater danger and we will have to reveal my existence anyway when we arrive to save her."_

_"We'll deal with that if and when it happens. My mind is made up, Renamon."_


	19. Chapter 19

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: DFC**

Friday 5th November - 3:35pm

Nonaka Residence

"Grandma, we're home!" Rika called as she opened her house's front door and stepped into the entrance hall, Sam following close behind her.

"We're in here," a voice answered and the two girls followed it to the living room where they found Seiko laid out on the sofa, with Miranda frantically wiping the coffee table in front of her with a damp cloth.

"Um, I think it's clean now," Sam noted with a puzzled frown as their housekeeper started scrubbing harder.

"Oh, it might look that way to the untrained eye, but I can see over a dozen spots that need a good cleaning!" the Irishwoman replied, beads of sweat running down her brow.

"Miranda, I hardly think Rumiko is going to mind if the house is just a little bit messier than normal," Seiko sighed and shook her head. "You _have_ been busy looking after me, remember?"

"Oh, this isn't about Miss Rumiko - this is about _me_!" the younger woman growled as she leapt towards the vacuum cleaner, turning it on and shouting over the noise as she wheeled the machine around. "I've never left a house with a speck of dirt when the owner returns - my professional pride is at stake! THIS HOUSE ISN'T GOING TO BEAT ME!"

"I think she's lost it…" Rika muttered and rolled her eyes.

Miranda started to rebuke the girl but was interrupted by the telephone, which started to ring loudly and insistently. The Irishwoman ceased her hoovering and pounced on the phone, answering it breathlessly.

"You've reached the…Nonaka Household…" she gasped, then frowned in confusion. "Oh, Miss Rumiko! Is something the…I see, well would you like to speak to…hello? Hello? Hmmm, I think her battery must have died."

"Let me guess," Rika sighed and slumped onto the armchair. "She's not coming home this weekend, is she?"

"Oh, she's coming back, but she won't get home until after seven. There's been some trouble on the motorway and she's caught in traffic," Miranda replied.

"Well, in that case I don't see why you can't go round to your friend's house early," Seiko piped up with a smile.

It was Cam's birthday and the boy had invited Steph and the Tamers to a mass-sleepover at his house. The plan had been for Steph and Takato to arrive at four, with Rika and Henry arriving soon after five-thirty. The redhead was arriving late so that she could have some time to catch up with her mother after she got home from London, while Henry was visiting his grandparents.

"Really? Are you sure you don't need any help with stuff?" the Tamer asked, waving her hand at her grandmother's injured leg.

"Oh, we'll be fine!" Miranda replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You go on round to your little sleepover - I can take care of your grandmother. And remember your toothbrush, young lady!"

"Thanks," Rika replied with a brief smile and quickly ran upstairs to get changed and gather the items she would need for the overnight stay. She grabbed an old backpack and stuffed in a pair of pyjamas, a toothbrush, a change of clothes (including spare sweatbands for her wrists), a spare Xbox controller, a memory card and Cam's present (a poorly-wrapped Digimon Card Game starter set including a card reader and cards for the full 'Gaomon' evolution line). When she was satisfied that she had everything, the girl typed a quick text message to Cam (she had grudgingly exchanged numbers with him when he had become a Tamer) and clipped her D-Arc and cards onto her belt.

"Okay, grandma, I'm going! See you tomorrow!" Rika called as she made for the door.

"Hold on a second," Seiko replied, looking pointedly at Sam. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The redhead frowned in confusion. The younger girl had arranged to go round to the Wong house to spend time with her new friend Suzie, and the original plan had been for her to accompany Rika to Cam's house where she would be picked up by Janyuu as he dropped Henry off.

"Um, are you sure you wanna come with me?" the Tamer asked her sister. "I mean, we'll probably be playing video games or cards for the whole time. You'll be bored out of your mind for over an hour."

"I don't mind," Sam replied with a shrug. "Besides, I wanna learn how to play cards. It looks fun."

"Uh, okay then," the older girl shrugged and motioned towards the door. "I guess Cam won't mind if you show up too. Let's go."

* * *

Ridings Residence - 4pm

"Hey, Rika!" Cam greeted the girl cheerfully as he opened the door to see the redhead stood on his doorstep with a younger girl he presumed was Samantha. "Come on in. So, what's with the change of plans?"

"My mum got held up in traffic on the way back from London, so…" she replied and rolled her eyes as she stepped through the door. "This is Samantha, by the way."

"You can call me Sam," the girl piped up with a small smile, causing her sister to blink in surprise.

_"Whoa…I thought she only let her friends call her 'Sam'."_

_"She must have decided that she likes Cam. Sovereigns know why…"_

"Okay, then Sam, I'm Cam," the black-haired boy replied with a grin and a mock bow. "Welcome to my humble Adobe."

"It's 'abode'!" Steph's voice shouted from the living room. "Adobe is the software company. Now get back in here so I can kick your butt!"

"Your wish is my command, oh great one," he replied sarcastically and waved Rika and Sam through into the living room. "My parents are still at work, by the way, so we can be as loud as we want for a while."

"Great. Oh, while I remember…" the older girl mumbled and pulled the poorly-wrapped gift from her backpack. "Happy birthday."

"Dude…" Cam sighed in ecstasy as he eyed the card reader and MirageGaogamon card at the top of the starter deck. "Thanks Rika!"

"Meh, I need a challenge," Rika replied with a smirk. "Brainiac and Goggles are too predictable and I was getting sick of fighting against the Terriermon and Agumon line."

"Whoa…did you just pay me a compliment?" the boy gasped with a look of exaggerated shock.

"Don't get used to it," she replied and frowned as she walked into the living room and saw the game currently being played on the Xbox. "Hey, when did you get AC For Answer?"

"I bought it in town after I played it at Henry's house. I was about to have a match with Steph," Cam replied, nodding in the direction of the impatient, bespectacled blonde girl sat on the sofa.

"Hey, Rika," Steph called, blinking as she noticed the girl's companion. "I guess this is…"

"Sam," the younger girl nodded and gave a small smile.

_"There it is again! What the hell?"  
_

_"Maybe it is because they are your friends," _Renamon suggested. _"She probably just trusts your judgement of character."_

"So, you guys ready to watch me annihilate Steph again?" Cam chuckled and picked up his controller, pressing the 'Start Match' button.

"Third time's the charm," Steph growled as she cracked her neck and adjusted her grip on the controller.

Sixty seconds later, Steph's midweight NEW-SUNSHINE class unit named 'DeviantSaint' was left slumped over, billowing sparks and smoke as Cam punched the air and cheered victoriously, performing a victory lap in his own lightweight SOLUH 'Mirage'. _He's good, _Rika thought with a frown. _But not as good as me…_

"Oh, yeah! Who's the man? I am indestructible!"

"Wanna test that theory?" the redhead chuckled as she pulled her memory card from her backpack and plugged it into the Xbox 360, loading up the schematics for her own heavily-tuned and customized TYPE-LAHIRE 'StillBleeds' and enjoying the look of fear that passed across the boy's face as she did so.

"Damn…" he sighed as he took in the rapid-fire assault rifle, energy blade, railcannon and high-speed missile launcher.

"Let's get to it!" Rika chuckled, Sam and Steph settling down on the sofa behind her to watch the fight.

Cam knew he was in trouble from the beginning. Even using his high-accuracy laser rifle, he couldn't manage to land any real number of solid hits on StillBleeds, while Rika was consistently pummelling him with super high-velocity railcannon shells and rifle fire. The end came when the boy tried using a cluster of nearby buildings as cover from the relentless volley of fire while his shields recharged. Rika spotted his plan and boxed him in between two buildings with a missile volley, forcing him to dodge into an isolated alley. Before Mirage could escape, she quickly switched to her melee weapon and struck, slicing through the enemy machine and levelling a large chunk of both of the surrounding buildings with the long, violet blade. As the 'Winner - Player 2' message appeared on screen, the victorious redhead smirked and began to sing.

"_Every broken enemy will know_

_That their opponent had to be invincible_

_Take a last look around, while you're alive_

_I'm an indestructible master of war!_"

"You can say that again," Cam chuckled. "That was amazing! I've never seen a NEXT move like that. How did you get so good?"

"Practice," Rika replied with a smirk.

"You must have had a hell of a lot of practice…" Steph said and shook her head. "Hell, you must have lived on your Xbox."

"I basically did. Before Renamon came along, I didn't have a lot to do in Japan."

Before either of her friends could reply, a knock came at the door. Cam stood up and walked into the hall, opening the door to reveal a sheepishly grinning Takato.

"Heh, sorry I'm late. My dad managed to set fire to the living room curtains…again…" the begoggled Tamer chuckled and handed his friend an artfully-wrapped DVD boxset of Gundam Wing. "Happy birthday!"

"Whoa…cheers, mate! I've been looking for these for ages!" the taller boy grinned as he gazed hungrily at the DVDs. "So, what's the deal with your dad and those curtains? Does he have a grudge against them or something?"

"Beats me!" Takato replied with a shrug and a grin which turned into a frown as he walked into the living room and saw Rika. "Oh, man…I'm not _that_ late am I?"

"No, I'm just early. And nice to see you too, Gogglehead."

"Gogglehead?" Sam said slowly and frowned. "That's a weird name."

"Oh, that's just a nickname Rika gave me - my real name is Takato," the brown-haired boy laughed. "So, I guess you're Rika's sister, right?"

"Yup. I'm Sam," the girl replied cheerfully.

"So, what are we up to?"

"Well, until you came along, Rika was gloating about breaking my winning streak on ACFA," Cam smirked, then brandished his new card reader and deck. "So, anyone up for a card game?"

A few minutes later, Cam and Steph were in a doubles match against Takato and Sam. For both Sam and Steph, this was their first game and Rika spent her time coaching both of the rookies. The game ended with a close victory for Cam and Steph, after MirageGaogamon got in a pair of perfectly-planned strikes that deleted Takato's WarGreymon and crippled Sam's Kuzuhamon. The younger girl held her own, defeating Steph's Crusadermon before being annihilated by a "Full Moon Blaster" attack from her other opponent.

"That was fun!" the youngest girl exclaimed as soon as the battle ended, surprisingly not bothered by her defeat.

"Yeah," Steph agreed with a nod and a smile. "Shame about the whole getting deleted thing, though."

"Everyone gets deleted in their first battle," Rika chuckled.

"With one exception…" the blonde-haired girl noted, glancing pointedly at her red-haired friend.

"Rika's a special case," Cam interrupted with a grin. "She is, statistically speaking, the best player in the world, remember?"

"Really?" Sam asked, her eyes wide with admiration.

"What, don't tell me you didn't tell her about the whole 'Digimon Queen' thing?" the black-haired boy sighed in mock exasperation. "Sam, your big sister is the best Digimon card player in the entire world. There's only one guy who's anywhere near as good as her, and he lives all the way over in Japan."

"Great, let's just tell her about our secret plan to conquer the world while we're at it," the redhead grumbled sarcastically and shook her head. "Can we please drop the subject now?"

As the words left Rika's mouth, a rather convenient distraction came in the form of three D-Arcs simultaneously squawking into life, an orchestra of shrill alarms cutting off Cam's reply. The three Tamers glanced at their respective devices, each of them frowning as they saw an abnormally powerful signal.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, oblivious to the urgency of the situation. "And what's that weird beeping thing?"

"Oh, it's nothing," her sister replied dismissively, stuffing her D-Arc into her pocket. _"Gotta think fast…gotta get away somehow…"_

"Hey, we should go round to the shop and get some snacks for tonight!" Takato piped up with a grin and a subtle wink to his fellow Tamers.

"Uh, yeah, good idea. I'm getting a craving for chocolate right about now…" Cam added quickly.

"Let's go, then," Rika agreed and got to her feet, cursing mentally as Sam did the same. "Um…hey Sam, why don't you and Steph stay here? That way you can have another practice battle while we're out."

"Okay…" the younger girl agreed reluctantly, sitting back down and gathering her cards.

"See you guys later!" Steph called and smiled, trying to hide her concern as the trio headed for the door.

"Let's get to the park!" Rika shouted as she stepped out of the door and broke into a run, heading for the park at full speed. "By the way, quick thinking Goggles."

"I have my moments."

* * *

Kirkfield Park - 4:44pm

"That's a big one," Cam gulped as he stared at the Digital Field currently enshrouding an enormous clearing at the centre of Kirkfield Park. "Maybe we should wait for Takato and Guilmon…"

Unfortunately, Guilmon's Den had not been en route to the Digital Field, meaning that Takato had been forced to leave the other Tamers in order to pick up his partner. Gaomon and Renamon, on the other hand, had met their Tamers at the edge of the park.

"If we are so badly outmatched that we cannot defeat this foe with one Champion and one Ultimate, I highly doubt that Growlmon will make any difference," Renamon noted as she gazed into the impenetrable fog.

"Agreed," Gaomon nodded from the kitsune's right, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck as he spoke.

"Besides, if Goggles turns up halfway through the fight then he can ambush whatever we're facing," Rika noted as she drew a card from her belt. "The element of surprise can go a long way towards winning a difficult battle."

"Well said," a harsh, metallic voice chuckled from in front of the group.

* * *

Ridings Residence

_Why would Rika lie to me? _Sam asked herself as Steph set up for another game of cards. _I __**know**__ I heard her say she was going to the park…and what was that weird beeping thing she had? I think Steph knows…she looked really weird when I asked her about it…but why won't she tell me?_

_I guess there's only one way to find out…_

"Um, I need to use the toilet," Sam lied and shifted in her seat.

"Okay, it's just by the front door. You walked past it on your way in," Sam replied helpfully and smiled.

"Thanks," the brunette chirped and made her way to the bathroom, opening the door and closing it again without stepping inside. Quickly and quietly, the little girl slipped on her shoes and opened the front door, stepping out and closing it silently behind her. With a small smile, Sam began to run towards the park as fast as her legs could carry her.

_Nobody lies to me!

* * *

_

The Tamers and Digimon turned to look at the source of the voice and were shocked to see the cloud of fog rapidly dissipating, revealing a strange, chicken-like Digimon about three feet tall. Its body was spherical and made out of purple metal with Chinese characters painted in black on the front. A pair of golden wings and two scrawny yellow legs emerged from the armoured shell and a long, flowing tail fluttered behind it. A strange, double-ended weapon that looked two taloned, bird-like legs made of solid gold joined together at the knee rested on its back. Finally, a golden rooster's head with a long, red plume protruded from the top of the shell, its eyes glaring and red.

"What the hell is that?" Cam asked with a frown as he scanned the Digimon with his D-Arc and read out its statistics.

_Name: Sinduramon_

_Level: Ultimate_

_Attribute: Data_

_Note: One of the Twelve Devas_

_Special Attacks:_

_Positron Pulse_

_Bao Chu_

"That's a Deva?" Gaomon frowned and took up a fighting stance. "I expected it to be taller."

"Don't underestimate him," Rika warned as the card in her hand glowed blue. "**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

"**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

"I don't think so," Sinduramon snarled as the strange talons on his back began to glow yellow. "**Bao Chu!**"

Suddenly, a stream of electricity shot from the Tamers' D-Arcs and connected to the Deva's 'Bao Chu' weapon. The small devices let out a pair of alarm-like shrieks before their screens went dead, cutting off the twin Digivolutions.

"No way!" Rika complained as she shook her D-Arc violently, rapping the screen with her knuckles in a desperate attempt to make it work.

"Is this size more to your liking, my dear Gaomon?" Sinduramon chuckled and the group of humans and Digimon turned to see that the rooster Deva had grown to over ten feet tall.

"He absorbed the energy from the D-Arcs! How is that even possible?" Renamon gasped as her eyes flashed. "Rika, I need a power card!"

"I'm trying!" the girl protested as she repeatedly slashed a card through her D-Arc's card reader with no effect whatsoever. "This can't be happening…"

"Hmmm…two Rookies against a Deva? The odds are not in your favour…" the rooster remarked with something approaching a smirk. "I am going to enjoy killing you…**Positron Pulse!**"

A bolt of azure lightning sprung from the twin talons of the Bao Chu and tore through the air towards Renamon. The kitsune leapt to the side, barely managing to dodge the attack as it tore a massive crater in the ground where she had been stood.

"**Power Paw!**" the vulpine Digimon called in reply and leapt at Sinduramon, only to shriek in pain as her flaming paw rebounded off of the thick armour on his midsection.

"Aww, did foxy get an owie? Maybe some electro-shock therapy will help!" the Deva cackled and slammed his wings into his stunned opponent, lightning arcing between the golden feathers. Renamon was sent flying with another agonized scream as electricity crackled across her body, landing in a heap at her Tamer's feet.

"Leave her alone! **Gao Rush!**" Gaomon roared and leapt into the air, flying towards his opponent's unarmoured head from above at incredible speed.

"Nice try…" the rooster began, pulling his head and wings into his shell like a tortoise as the blue-furred canine launched into a series of rapid punches. The attacks had just as little effect as those of his wounded comrade's, but Gaomon managed to avoid injuring himself thanks to his padded boxing gloves. "…But you'll have to do better than that! **Positron Pulse!**"

Sinduramon rolled forwards and smashed his attacker on top of the head with his left Bao Chu claw before unleashing a lightning blast at point blank range. Gaomon screamed as he sailed through the air, a thick-trunked oak cutting his impromptu flight short with an audible 'THUD'. The blue-furred Digimon groaned and struggled to stand as the rooster re-extended his head and wings and began pacing slowly towards him.

"You Tamers are _such_ a disappointment. I heard that you actually had some skill, but I guess the rumours were exaggerated. Sovereign knows how Mihiramon managed to get himself killed by such a pathetic bunch of weaklings…" the Deva chuckled darkly as he halted, towering over his diminutive opponent. "And now, the grand finale…"

* * *

_Gaomon, no!_ Takato gasped mentally as he ran into the clearing with his partner just in time to see the enormous rooster plodding towards the prone canine. _Why aren't they Digivolved? Unless they did Digivolve and they got beaten…oh, man - this guy is gonna rip me apart! I don't stand a…_

_DAMN IT, TAKATO, SNAP OUT OF IT! I've got to help them! _the boy decided, a determined look passing over his face as he drew a card from his card holder. _What was it my grandpa said…"A truly brave man is not fearless - in fact, he feels as much fear as any other man, but refuses to let his fear master him!"_

As Takato raised the card to his D-Arc, he noticed it change colour to a glossy blue. With a triumphant grin, the Tamer slashed the card just as Sinduramon's Bao Chu began to glow blue.

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

"WHAT?" the Deva squawked and span on the spot, his Bao Chu glowing yellow as he searched for the source of the voice. "**Bao-**"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Guilmon Matrix Digivolve to…**"

"…**Chu!**" he finished, cursing as his opponent's data sphere exploded and he realized that his attack had come too late.

"**WarGrowlmon!**"

If Growlmon was terrifying, then WarGrowlmon was something else entirely. The lower half of his body was basically the same as that of his Champion form, but that was where the similarities ended. His torso was encased in silver and red metal armour with a black Digital Hazard emblazoned on the chest between a pair of stubby cannons, and his arms had been completely replaced with robotic versions, each tipped with three razor-sharp claws. His massive forearms were encased in thick, dark grey bracers and an enormous axe-like blade extended from each of his wrists to his elbows. The massive saurian's lower jaw had also been replaced with a crude bionic substitute, a set of metal teeth gleaming in the evening sun. A long, whiplike tail made of silver metal protruded from between a pair of blocky silver fins on his back, the underside of each fin lined with engines.

"Leave my friends alone!" WarGrowlmon roared and activated his Vernier engines, rocketing towards Sinduramon at breakneck speed. "**Radiation Blade!**"

The massive cyborg's arm-blades crackled with blue energy and he slashed at his smaller opponent, scoring a pair of deep grooves in the rooster's armour. Sinduramon shrieked with rage and fluttered into the air, unleashing a bolt of lightning with a call of "**Positron Pulse!**". WarGrowlmon crossed his arms in front of his body, allowing the lightning bolt to arc across the massive blades and supercharge his next attack. With another roar of "**Radiation Blade!**", the saurian leapt forward and slashed the plasma-coated blades at his foe. The Deva squawked and dodged the first slash from WarGrowlmon's right claw by retracting his head into his armoured chest, blinding himself and leaving him open to attack in the process. WarGrowlmon exploited the rooster's mistake with glee, slamming his energized left claw into the rooster's chest and splitting the armour open like an eggshell. Sinduramon's head was clearly visible through the hole, and the Deva gulped as his massive opponent grabbed him by the wings and glared into his panic-filled eyes.

"Time for some Digi-Fried Chicken!" WarGrowlmon chuckled and lowered his opponent so that the rooster's face was level with the cannons mounted on his silver chest, a red glow emanating from the short barrels. "**Atomic Blaster!**"

Sinduramon screamed as a pair of red energy beams tore from the cannons and flooded into the breach in his armour. The Deva's head was instantly reduced to data as the beams tore through him, the back of his armoured chest bulging outwards before bursting like an over-ripe melon and finally disintegrating into data. As usual, WarGrowlmon left the data for his wounded comrades, who absorbed it gratefully and climbed shakily to their feet.

"Thanks for the save there, Takato," Cam called to his friend. "I thought we were toast when that chicken fried our D-Arcs."

"He fried your D-Arcs? How did that happen?"

"He used this move that drained the power right out of them," Rika explained as she helped Renamon to stand. "Sinduramon used that power to make himself bigger and stronger - he was about three feet tall at the start of the fight."

"Whoa, that's messed up," the brown-haired Tamer mumbled. "Is everything working again?"

The redhead pulled out her D-Arc and was relieved to see that the screen was once again lit up. "Yeah, everything seems to b-"

CRACK!

* * *

Rika stopped talking suddenly as a loud 'CRACK!' resounded through the clearing. WarGrowlmon span around and let out a feral growl, seeking out the source of the noise. The cyborg fell silent as his angry gaze fell on the culprit - a twig that had been snapped in two by the foot of a seven-year-old girl with long, reddish-brown hair.

"Sam?" Rika exclaimed in surprise as she too noticed the girl.

"Eep!" Sam squeaked and ran towards her sister, gripping her in a tight hug and burying her face in the older girl's stomach. "Make it go away!" she cried, terrified by the enormous, snarling robot-dinosaur hybrid.

_Ooohhh…I made scary Rika's little sister get scared…_ WarGrowlmon thought with more than a hint of guilt as his eyes brimmed with tears. _I didn't mean to do it…oh, I know how to make it up to her!_

"It's okay, Sam, he's a friend," the redhead said soothingly in an attempt to calm her sister. The Tamer shot a quick glare at the massive Digimon - a glare that quickly turned into a puzzled frown as she watched his whiplike second tail reach out and pick a small flower from underneath a nearby tree in a surprising display of dexterity. "Sam, he's not going to hurt you. Look…"

Sam reluctantly pulled her face away from her sister's shirt and turned to look at the gargantuan cyborg. The little girl was surprised to see him gazing down at her sadly, his eyes wet with unshed tears. "I'm sorry," WarGrowlmon pined and looked at the floor dejectedly. "I didn't mean to scare you. Look, I brought you a present!"

With that, the saurian's long tail snaked out and deposited the flower gently in the little girl's hands. Sam gazed at the flower for a few seconds before looking up just in time to see WarGrowlmon begin to glow white and revert to his Rookie form of Guilmon.

"Can we be friends? Please?" Guilmon asked hopefully, staring at the girl with his best 'puppy-dog' eyes. After a few more seconds, she nodded slowly and the little dinosaur leapt into the air with an enormous grin on his face. "Yippee! Thank you!"

"What…what are you?" the brunette whispered tentatively as the saurian continued his exuberant cheering.

"I think I'd better explain that one," Rika sighed, leading the girl towards a nearby log so that they could sit down. "Oh, and thanks for the help there Goggles."

* * *

"Man, that was a close one…" Cam chuckled and grinned at his goggle-wearing friend.

"Are you talking about the Deva thing or the whole 'Rika was about to kill WarGrowlmon' thing?" Takato sighed and slumped against a nearby tree.

"Both, I guess. Oh, that reminds me - when did you make an Ultimate form for Guilmon? You never showed me any pictures and Henry and Steph never mentioned it."

"Oh, well I didn't. At least, not properly," the brown-haired boy shrugged, continuing when he saw his fellow Tamer's confused look. "I drew a couple of…what's the word…concept sketches and came up with the name, but I never wrote any stats or anything I could scan. Actually, I had everything figured out in my brain and I was gonna try and do the final drawings tonight. I guess my D-Arc decided to save me the trouble and just took the info out of my brain."

"I wonder, then, why it did not do that in your fight with Sangloupmon," Gaomon pointed out with a frown. "From what I have heard, Rika seems to think that that situation would normally have triggered a Digivolution to Champion."

"Huh, you have a point there…" Takato mumbled, glancing at the redhead to see her deep in conversation with her sister. The younger girl was wearing a disbelieving frown - a frown which quickly disappeared as soon as Renamon materialized a few metres away. The kitsune de-Digivolved to Viximon in a flash of light, letting out an audible sigh as Sam squealed with delight and grabbed her in a tight hug.

"It is times like this that make me infinitely grateful for the fact that you are an only child…" Gaomon chuckled with a glance at his Tamer and shook his head.

* * *

_"Help…me…" _Viximon gasped telepathically as she felt her air supply being cut off by Sam's painful bear hug.

"Um, Sam? I think you're hurting her…" Rika chuckled, causing the younger girl to loosen her grip on the small fox slightly.

"Thank you," Viximon croaked and leapt to the floor, Digivolving back to her natural form of Renamon. _"I do not understand why she finds this form so intimidating. I thought humans liked furry creatures."_

_"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but…it's probably your eyes. To people who don't know you, they look a little…how should I put this…?"_

_"Cold?"_

_"Yeah, I guess," _the redhead chuckled mentally, before turning to her oblivious sister and switching back to verbal communication. "Okay, Sam, I need you to listen _very _carefully. You can't tell anyone about this - not my mum, not Miranda, not your friends."

"Not even Suzie?" the little girl asked, her eyes wide.

"_Especially_ not Suzie," Rika replied, shuddering as she considered the repercussions that would result from the youngest Wong learning that Terriermon was actually alive. "The only people you can talk to about this are me, my friends, the Digimon and grandma."

"Grandma Seiko knows?" Sam gasped, a little hurt at being kept out of the loop by so many people. "Why didn't you tell me about this stuff earlier? I could help you guys out!"

"No!" the older girl exclaimed suddenly, making her sister jump slightly. Cursing herself inwardly, she continued in a much softer voice. "I mean…no. I don't want you to have to fight and go through what we do. It's hard work and really dangerous - if things went wrong you could get hurt."

"But we're the good guys! We'd never lose!" the brunette protested naïvely.

"The good guys don't always win," Rika sighed and looked at the floor sadly. "We've lost fights before, and even when we win we can get hurt. Me and Renamon have gotten beat up pretty bad before and so have most of the others - especially Goggles. Just ask him about Sangloupmon. Or Mihiramon. Or Gargomon."

_Or IceDevimon… _the redhead thought, shuddering at the traumatic memories of that particular encounter.

"Okay…" Sam muttered reluctantly.

"Thanks," the older girl smiled and placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. As she re-joined the rest of the group and they began to walk back to Cam's house, the girl's phone began playing an incredibly loud heavy metal ringtone. Cursing quietly, Rika pulled the iPhone out of her pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

_["Rika, __**please**__ don't freak out…"] _Steph's voice replied shakily. _["But I think I might have lost your sister…"]_

"I know," the Tamer growled and clenched her teeth. "She turned up just in time to get the crap scared out of her by WarGrowlmon and I had to tell her everything. Great babysitting, by the way."

With that, Rika hung up and thrust her phone back into her pocket angrily. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she turned to her younger sister with a confused frown.

"Uh…how exactly _did _you get away from Steph?"

* * *

Digital World, Sovereign's Plane - 6pm GMT

_My lord is not going to be happy…_ Caturamon sighed mentally as he strolled through the enormous stone double doors that led into the Sovereign Palace of the Southern Quadrant. The leader of the Devas cast a wary glance back at the hellish volcanic wasteland that waited outside and shook his head ruefully. _I would sooner bathe in that lava than face the wrath my lord is sure to unleash upon me after I deliver this news._

"Another failure, Caturamon?" a high-pitched, manic voice chuckled from the shadows behind the canine. "Our wise and powerful master will surely have your head for this one…"

"Be quiet, Makuramon," the dog Deva growled menacingly. "I am still leader of the Devas and am well within my rights to punish you for your insolence."

"Somehow, I doubt that you will be retaining your title for much longer."

"Do you presume to tell me what I think, Makuramon?" an ancient, booming voice echoed through the titanic entrance hall and the monkey Deva fell to his knees in supplication.

"No, my lord, I merely meant tha-"

"SILENCE!" the voice roared, causing Makuramon to cower in fear. "I will hear what my agent has to say for himself before I pass judgement. Let it not be said that I am unfair in my rulings."

"My thanks, oh wise and benevolent lord," Caturamon grinned as he padded towards the second set of massive double doors at the far end of the hall.

As the canine reached the doors, they swung open of their own accord, revealing a colossal, dome-shaped chamber which sloped upwards to a height of at least forty metres at the centre. At the centre of the room was a ring of enormous marble columns, each twice the size of a house and topped with a wide, curved slab of stone. The stones interlocked to form a ring-shaped platform more than wide enough for a decent-sized Digimon to walk along. Far more impressive than the rather spartan structure, however, was the Digimon stood at the centre of the ring.

He was enormous. From the tip of his fiery, lizardlike tail to the point of his sharpened beak he had to be half a dozen storeys tall, with the largest of his pairs of wings having a span of twice that. His bird-like body was covered in blood red feathers, changing colour to orange and then yellow at the tops of six of his eight wings, creating an illusion of flames. The illusion was completely unnecessary, as an aura of heat powerful enough to be visible to the naked eye surrounded the phoenix-like Digimon Sovereign. The upper half of his long beak was covered by a jagged helmet made of red metal and six crimson Digi-cores floated around his grey-feathered neck like pearls on an invisible necklace. Six more Digi-cores orbited around his torso and tail at regular intervals like miniature moons. As Caturamon gazed upon the form of his master, he fell to the floor and whispered his name in reverence.

"My Lord Zhuqiaomon."

"Come closer, Caturamon," the phoenix ordered as the double doors slammed closed behind his canine servant. The Deva obliged, climbing to his feet and leaping into the air. He landed on top of the ring surrounding the Sovereign and winced as the heat emanating from the fiery Digimon's body began to sear his flesh. "So, tell me…why does Makuramon seem so convinced that I shall kill you?"

"I…I bring grave news, my lord," the bulldog stammered, visibly shaking with fear at the menace in his master's voice. "Your loyal servant Sinduramon has fallen in battle against the abominations. Another of their number has managed to Digivolve to Ultimate."

Zhuqiaomon's roar of rage caused the earth to shake violently, dust cascading down from the ceiling to land on Caturamon's face. Desperately fighting the urge to sneeze, the Deva whimpered in pain as the heat searing his flesh increased in intensity.

"Do we have the details of this latest…farce?" the Sovereign growled as soon as he had calmed down enough to speak.

"Yes, lord. Our espionage program captured the entirety of the fight, in addition to the ten minutes which came after Sinduramon's demise."

"Show me."

Caturamon wailed in agony as Zhuqiaomon used a telepathic probe to force his way into his mind with all the care and subtlety of Vajramon in a china shop. The Sovereign reviewed the recording inside his subject's mind slowly and carefully, purposefully extending the painful procedure for as long as he could maintain the link. Eventually, he withdrew from the canine's mind, leaving him laid on the floor and panting in exhaustion.

"Get up," Zhuqiaomon spat contemptuously and Caturamon climbed shakily to his feet, looking dazedly at his avian master. "This girl here, she is not a Tamer. Who is she?" the phoenix asked, sending a mental image of a brown-haired girl much younger than the other humans present to his servant.

"According to my sources, she is the sister of Rika Nonaka, the Tamer of the Renamon. She is of no importance."

"I DECIDE IF SHE IS OF IMPORTANCE!" the Sovereign roared at earth-shaking volume once again. "She has been exposed to a Digimon, is related to a Tamer and is at the correct age…the odds of her becoming a Tamer herself are high. Hmmm…I wonder…"

"My lord?" the bulldog called hesitantly after almost a minute of silence.

"Inform all of our forces to discontinue Project PHANTOM," he replied with a low chuckle. "I have a new plan."

"My lord, please! I know that PHANTOM has suffered many setbacks, but I belie-"

"SILENCE! You have failed me one too many times - the deaths of so many Devas cannot be ignored. Now get out of my sight before I incinerate you!" Zhuqiaomon roared, sending his Deva scurrying for the door. "And send in Makuramon. Perhaps _he_ will actually show a level of basic competence…"

"My most gracious lord," Makuramon called from the doorway as he stepped into the chamber. "Forgive me for intruding, but I could not help but overhear your most majestic of voices. May I ask…does this mean that…?"

"Yes. Now that we have a suitable subject, I am giving Project NOSFERATU the green light. Bring me a list of additional candidates by the end of the next night cycle."

"Yes, my lord!" the demented monkey cheered, cartwheeling through the massive doors with a look of insane glee.

_Soon…_ the phoenix thought. _Soon I shall have an army of Mega-level Digimon at my disposal, and I will be the master of the greatest force to grace this world since the fall of the Royal Knights! __**I SHALL BE A GOD!**_


	20. Chapter 20

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: Diversion**

Monday 8th November - 3:18pm

Outside Redchapel Primary School, Kirkfield

"I don't get why their school has to finish so much later than ours," Cam grumbled and leaned back against the metal railings of Redchapel Primary School's fence. "I mean, there's thirty-five minutes between us and your sisters finishing school. What's the point?"

"Oh, stop whining," Henry replied, chuckling at his friend's irritation. "You and Steph both volunteered to come with us, remember? And you don't hear her complaining."

"Well, we didn't really have much of a choice, did we?" the black-haired boy protested. "I mean, there wouldn't be much point going back to our houses when we'd just be going round to yours about twenty minutes later."

"It would have saved me a headache," Rika muttered, drawing a mock glare from the moaning Tamer and a small giggle from Steph.

"Oh, lighten up Cam," the blonde-haired girl chuckled. "It's not like you have anything better to do."

"That's not true! I could have gone on a nice run through the park while we were waiting here!"

"Running? You? Ha!" the redhead snorted and shook her head as she looked at the slightly-tubby boy.

"Hey! I'll have you know that Gaomon has sorted out a daily exercise programme to get me in shape!"

"And you're actually doing it?" Steph asked sceptically.

"Well, yeah. Now that I'm a Tamer I gotta try and keep fit and healthy so I can help save lives better!"

"I think hell just froze over…" Henry mumbled with a grin, getting a smirk and a nod of agreement from Rika.

The group lapsed into silence for a few moments before Cam spoke up.

"Man, I feel sorry for Takato. Getting grounded for burning a batch of bread…"

"You _should_ be sorry - it wasyour fault!" Rika replied with a chuckle. "If you hadn't kept him awake all Friday night with your stupid pranks, he'd never have fallen asleep in the kitchen…or in Maths…"

"He fell asleep in Maths? So that's what Mad Maddox was shouting about last period," Steph laughed.

"Hey, yeah - we could even hear that in my class, and we're way down the other end of the corridor!" Cam nodded, a sheepish grin on his face. "Heh, I was taking bets with Joe Carr over what made him flip out like that….so, what happened to Takato?"

"He got a detention for Thursday," Henry replied, suddenly looking back towards the school as a horde of shrieking children erupted from the main entrance. "Looks like school's out. Hey, there's Suzie and Sam!"

"Finally!" the black-haired boy sighed, frowning as he saw a group of about six rough-looking boys intercept the two girls. The gang was led by an oddly-familiar, tall, fat child who looked to be about a year older than the Tamers' sisters. "Hey, what's going on?"

Sam clenched her fists and stepped forwards, saying something to the gang leader. Whatever she said obviously amused the boy, as he immediately let out a loud burst of laughter and pushed the girl roughly to the ground, one of his friends doing the same to Suzie.

"HEY!" Rika roared as her sister hit the ground, setting off at a run towards the gang of thugs. Henry glanced quickly around at the surrounding area, noting the lack of any teachers nearby, before setting off after her.

"What the-GAH!" the fat boy shrieked as the older girl span grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off of the ground and slamming his back against a wall.

"If you _ever _go near my little sister again," the redhead growled and slammed the boy against the wall a second time, her voice dangerously quiet. "I swear, I will break every single bone in your body one by one. Got it?"

"Uh-huh!" the thug whimpered and nodded frantically, squealing in pain as he was dropped to the ground.

"Sam, are you okay?" the Tamer asked, helping her sister to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," the younger girl replied as she dusted off her navy blue jumper and black skirt.

Suzie, on the other hand, was not quite so resilient. The youngest member of the Wong family was currently sobbing into her brother's shoulder, struggling to string together a coherent sentence.

"Th-th-they…they j-just came up to u-u-us…and th-they…they were mean and pushed me over and I scwaped my knee!" she bawled, Henry's attempts at calming her having little effect.

"It's okay, Suzie. They won't hurt you now," he whispered, shooting a venomous glare at the boy who had pushed his sister over - a lean, weaselly-looking boy who also looked familiar. "What Rika said goes for you too. If you even go near Suzie again…"

The boy gulped as Cam and Steph blinked in surprise. They had never seen Henry this angry about anything before, and it was actually a little scary.

"Where the hell are the teachers?" the blonde-haired girl whispered cautiously. "When we used to come here they'd leap on anything like this in seconds."

"I think they may be busy," Cam replied, pointing to a group of teachers trying to break up a fight between two boys. "Hey Henry, Rika! We should probably get out of here before the teachers notice what happened. They don't like kids from Redcliff threatening students - even if it they are dicks like these guys."

"Agreed," the redhead replied, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder as Henry led his still-crying sister towards the gates by the hand.

"I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THIS!" a voice shrieked from behind the group and they turned to see the fat boy glaring at them, his face red with rage. "I'LL GET MY BIG BROTHER TO BEAT YOU UP! HE'S CALLED LUKE AARON, AND HE'S THE TOUGHEST KID IN HIS YEAR!"

Rika fixed the boy with her seldom-used Number One Death Glare, shutting him up instantly and causing him to shake with sheer terror. "Luke Aaron?" she spat contemptuously. "I already kicked his ass once, along with his little gang of pet psychos. Just ask him about the second day of school."

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 3:33pm

"Rika…" Sam said hesitantly as the two girls came within sight of the long driveway leading to their home. "Please don't tell Grandma Seiko about what happened."

"I won't," the older girl promised, remembering the similar feelings she'd had when she had been bullied at Sam's age. "On one condition. If that asshole _ever _goes near you again, you'll tell me. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

As the two girls walked, Rika gave her younger sister a worried glance. Sam was settling in to her new school and home as well as could be expected, but she was far from being back to normal after her mother's death. She still cried every day, though less frequently than she had a week ago. The girl had even started making friends – she and the kind-hearted (though slightly insane) Suzie Wong had become practically inseparable.

"Grandma, we're home!" Rika called, shaking her head to bring herself back to reality as she opened the front door and stepped into the house.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Seiko replied and the girls wandered into the room to see the woman sat at the table with a steaming cup of tea, Miranda preparing the evening meal behind her.

"Hi grandma, hi Miranda," the redhead greeted them and sat down at the table opposite her grandmother. "Um, Henry and Suzie invited us over to their house on the way back from school. Can we go?"

"Do either of you have any homework?" the older woman asked, receiving two simultaneous head-shakes in response. "Then I don't see why not. Be back by six o'clock."

"Thanks, grandma!" the two sisters called and ran to their respective rooms to get changed into their normal clothes. As they thundered up the stairs, Miranda shook her head and flashed a quick smile.

"Oh, for the energy of youth…"

* * *

Wong Residence - 4:14pm

All was well in the Wong house. Rika and Henry were sat on boy's bedroom floor having a 2 vs. 2 deathmatch with Cam and Steph on Armored Core, while Suzie and Sam were busy doing whatever it is seven-year-old girls do in their free time. Henry and Rika were easily winning, with Steph's machine at 20% health and Cam boxed into an alley by long-range sniper fire from Henry's heavyweight, four-legged NEXT called 'Peacemaker'. The duo's cunning plan was brought to a halt by a desperate suicide attack from Steph against Henry, who was forced to swap targets and switch to his heavy gatling cannons to defend himself. 'DeviantSaint' was quickly brought down, but the distraction had given Cam an opportunity to circle around to Rika's rear and unleash a storm of close-range laser fire. The girl dodged most of the blasts and triggered her energy blade, levelling a nearby skyscraper and creating a convenient smokescreen that allowed her to take to the air and unleash a torrent of assault rifle and railcannon fire that reduced her silver and blue opponent to a smoking wreck.

"Damn it!" Steph complained as the defeat message appeared on her screen. "I was _this_ close to killing you, Henry."

"So…" Cam grinned sheepishly. "Best out of seven?"

"Why don't we switch the teams around?" Henry suggested. "How about me and Cam against Rika and Steph?"

"Sounds good - maybe this way I'll actually have a chance of winning!" the blonde-haired girl chuckled.

The next few games resulted in close victories for the two girls. Under Rika's direction, Steph quickly learned how to use her NEXT's awesome firepower to pin down her opponents while her lightweight ally closed in to make the kill at point blank range. At some point during the third battle, Sam and Suzie wandered into the room and sat down, watching the action with a mix of boredom and confusion.

"I don't get why you wike aww that boy's stuff," Suzie complained as the two girls won yet again, her minor speech impediment making her words difficult to decipher. "Guns and wobots are so bowring. Don't you think so, Pwincess Pwetty Pants?"

Rika had to stifle a laugh as she turned to see Terriermon held in the little girl's arms dressed in a pink tutu. The rabbit was gazing at her with a pleading look, begging the Tamer to save him from the delusional child.

"Meh," Steph replied with a shrug. "Each to her own…"

The group sat there quietly for a few seconds as they waited for the next game to load. Eventually, Sam broke the silence by whispering to Suzie in an urgent voice.

"Ask her!"

"I dunno…" the half-Chinese girl mumbled, looking at Rika nervously. "Oh, okay…Wika? Your hair is vewy pwetty…"

"Um…thanks?" the redhead replied uncertainly.

"Can we pway with it?" Suzie asked, putting on her best 'puppy-dog' eyes and gazing at the older girl. "Pwease? Pwetty pwetty pwease?"

"Oh, no…not the eyes!" Steph grumbled quietly and looked away.

"Please?" Sam added quietly, matching her friend's expression perfectly.

"I…I…" the Tamer stammered, trying to look away from the twin hypnotic gazes. "I…fine…"

"YAY!" the younger girls squealed as one and leapt at Rika, quickly pulling out her hairband and letting her hair cascade down around her shoulders.

_"Damn it…I think I'm going soft…" _the redhead grumbled telepathically, eliciting a chuckle from her vulpine partner.

_"If only Jeri could see you now…"_

_"I swear, if you say one word about this to __**anyone**__…"_

"Whoa…" Steph gasped as she stared at the obviously-uncomfortable girl having her hair 'styled' by the two youngsters, then turned to Cam with a triumphant look. "HA! I told you it wasn't just me that worked on!"

"I…don't…believe it…" the black-haired boy stammered before breaking out into an enormous grin and reaching for his phone. "I have _got _to get a picture of this!"

"Cam…" the redhead growled as he activated the camera and launched into a series of _extremely_ explicit threats in Japanese, relying on the Babel system on the D-Arcs to translate for her while sparing the ears of her younger, more innocent listeners.

The boy looked thoughtful for a second, then shrugged and took the picture anyway. "Totally worth it!" he laughed.

Suddenly, a trio of D-Arcs burst into life and started wailing a familiar alarm tone.

_Freedom! _Rika thought with elation and tried to stand back up, only to be forced back to the floor by a stern-looking Suzie.

"Ah, ah, ah! Where do you think you're going Pwincess Wika? I'm not done with you yet!" the little girl said in a maternal tone.

"Brainiac…" the Tamer growled, looking pleadingly at the blue-haired boy as Sam began tying her hair into a braid.

"You heard the lady," Henry chuckled in reply. "Time to say bye-bye to Terriermon, Suzie!"

"Bye-bye Pwincess Pwetty Pants," the girl cheerfully, too enthralled with her latest plaything to be bothered about losing her old favourite. "Give Pwincess Wika a kiss bye-bye!"

Terriermon grinned evilly as he was lifted into the air and held against Rika's cheek. "Now you know how I feel!" he chuckled quietly and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"You. Are. Dead. Meat!" she replied through gritted teeth.

"Bye Princess Rika! Don't have too much fun while we're gone!" Cam called as he ran out of the room and thundered down the stairs, heading for the door.

"You know we're dead when she breaks free, right?" Henry noted breathlessly as the two boys ran towards the park, a now-defrocked Terriermon perched atop his Tamer's head.

"Again…TOTALLY worth it!"

* * *

Kirkfield Park - 4:39pm

"Oh, for the love of…" Terriermon sighed as he gazed at the colossal Digital Field that had swallowed up a huge chunk of Kirkfield Park. "What happened to the days when we'd just turn up to a battlefield, find a nice little Rookie-sized Digital Field and kick some ass? These days it's all 'Deva' this and 'Ultimate' that…"

"Terriermon…" the rabbit's Tamer growled and drew a Digivolution card.

"Could you at least _try_ to be serious?" Gaomon asked with a frown as Cam drew his own Digivolution card.

"I did try once. Got a letter from some guy called Mr Satan blaming me for a cold snap in his area. Never tried it again since."

"Are we gonna get to it, or just sit here chatting all day?" Cam complained as he slashed his card. "**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

"**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

"**Gaomon Digivolve to…Gaogamon!**"

"**Terriermon Digivolve to…Gargomon!**"

As the blue and green data spheres shattered, the two Champion level Digimon and their Tamers began walking cautiously forward into the cloud of fog. The gun-toting rabbit kept his cannon-arms outstretched, tracking them round as he searched for their enemy. Gaogamon, on the other hand, crouched low to the ground and kept to the treeline, using his ally as bait in the hope of ambushing any Digimon foolish enough to attack.

"I see you, little wolf!" a female voice taunted from in front of the group before calling out an attack. "**Treasure Bow!**"

Gaogamon leapt to the side as a trio of golden arrows slashed towards him at incredible speed. The projectiles missed by a hair's breadth and embedded themselves in a tree trunk behind the canine before disappearing in a flare of light.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" he roared, glaring into the surrounding fog angrily.

"As you wish!" the voice replied as a silhouette charged out of the mist towards the blue-furred wolf, its hooves making a thunderous noise as they drummed against the earth. "**Thunder Stomp!**"

Gaogamon leapt aside once again, barely avoiding the attack as the silhouette slammed its front hooves into the ground with earth-shattering force. The Digimon was momentarily stunned by its failure and Cam took the opportunity to scan it with his D-Arc.

_Name: Pajiramon_

_Level: Ultimate_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Note: One of the Twelve Devas_

_Special Attacks:_

_Treasure Bow_

_Thunder Stomp_

_Lullaby Bleat_

_Great, another Deva…_ the boy thought as he gazed at the newly-identified Digimon. It looked like the sheep version of a centaur, with a four-legged, sheep-like lower body and a wool-coated humanoid torso erupting from the sheep body's 'neck'. The Deva had two long, curling purple horns with a third, shorter horn set in the centre of its forehead just above its black-skinned face. Her torso and forearms were clad in gold-edged armour made out of purple metal, while a red sash and scarf graced its waist and shoulders.

"You're pretty fast…but not fast enough! Prepare to die, abomination!" Pajiramon roared and drew a black longbow from over her shoulder. "**Treasure Bow!**"

"**Gargo Lasers!**" Gargomon called out, tearing the volley of golden arrows to shreds with a burst of fire from his arm cannons.

"Insolent vermin! You're a traitor to Digi-kind!" the sheep roared and glared at the rabbit.

"Let me handle these worms," a voice dripping with arrogant confidence sighed from the fog. "**Horn of Desolation!**"

An unbearably loud foghorn-like noise rang out through the Field and a wave of pressure radiated from the far side of the fog cloud, cutting through the mists and knocking both Gargomon and Gaogamon to the ground. The two Tamers gritted their teeth and planted their feet firmly against the ground to avoid being blown away by the intense wind, gasping in horror as they saw their latest attacker.

It had the basic shape of a giant, purple horse with golden hooves, but the way it was stood was more reminiscent of an ape. The newcomer was hunched slightly forwards, taking some of its weight on its grotesquely over-muscled forelegs. A golden breastplate adorned its chest and a massive, spiked, golden shell was slung over its shoulders. Three conical red horns erupted from the top of its head and a long, white mane obscured most of its face. By far the most threatening part of the Digimon, however, was its size - Henry estimated that it would have stood head and shoulders above even WarGrowlmon. As the blue-haired Tamer pulled out his D-Arc and scanned the horse-like creature, he felt a shock of fear run through him.

_Name: Indramon_

_Level: Ultimate_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Note: One of the Twelve Devas_

_Special Attacks:_

_Horn of Desolation_

_Bao Bei_

"Two Devas?" Gargomon complained and levelled his gun-arms. "I knew I should have stolen Rinchei's Weetabix this morning…**Gargo Lasers!**"

The volley of energy bolts slammed into the colossal horse's armoured chest, not even scratching the metal. Gargomon fired a second volley, aiming for Indramon's unarmoured face, only for the shots to bounce off of his thick skin. Taking a single, thunderous step forwards, the Deva gave an infuriating smirk.

"You call _that _an attack? It felt more like a pleasant breeze to me," he sneered and reached for the shell slung over his back. "Let me show you how a _real _Digimon fights! **Bao Bei!**"

Gargomon leapt to the side, barely dodging the massive shell as his opponent swung it like a club, the spikes on the exotic weapon tearing a series of furrows in the ground. "Henry, modify me!" the rabbit pleaded as Indramon turned and prepared for another attack.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate! Power activate!**"

"Get ready to feel the burn…" Gargomon chuckled as he easily sidestepped the horse's next attack and fired a volley of hyper-powered lasers that did…absolutely nothing. "Ah, crap…" he sighed as the Deva grinned and raised his weapon again.

* * *

"**Gaoga Hound!**"

"**Thunder Stomp!**"

Gaogamon was knocked aside as his sheep-like opponent aimed a vicious kick at his face, hitting him in the snout and snapping his jaws closed with an audible CLACK. The wolf was faring little better than his ally, though while Gargomon was losing due to Indramon's ridiculous size advantage, Gaogamon was outmatched by Pajiramon's superior skill.

"This…is not going…too well…" the canine grumbled as he climbed to his feet.

"I'll see what I can do," his Tamer replied and drew a card. "**Digi-Modify! Light Training Manual activate!**"

Gaogamon flashed white for a second as he was temporarily modified to a 'Vaccine' type, giving him the type advantage over his opponent. With a snarl, the blue-furred Digimon leapt to his feet and raced towards his opponent.

"**Spiral Blow!**" he roared, firing a miniature tornado from his mouth. Pajiramon was forced to leap aside to avoid the attack, leaving her open to his next attack. "**Dash Double Claw!**"

The sheep shrieked in pain as Gaogamon's claws raked down her left flank, leaving a shallow but painful X-shaped wound. "You bastard!" she snarled and turned to face the wolf. "That's it, no more Mrs Nice Deva! **Lullaby Bleat!**"

Gaogamon flinched as Pajiramon let out a long, loud bleat that resonated deep within his skull. As the odd noise continued, he felt his vision begin to blur and an odd drowsiness started to wash over him.

_Cam, no!_ he thought desperately as his Tamer began to run to his side, putting himself in range of the Deva's attack.

* * *

_Not good…_ Cam thought as he felt an intense drowsiness come over him. _I really should have thought this through beforehand…but now…I'm too tired…to think. Maybe if I just…take a little nap…_

_NO! _the boy shouted mentally and shook his head, reaching unconsciously for his card holder. _Got to stay awake! She's gotta run out of breath soon…I'm not gonna give up…we are going…to win!_

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

* * *

_This is hopeless…_ Henry groaned mentally as Gargomon fired off yet another ineffective volley of laser fire. _Gargomon's lasers can't scratch him even with a Power card! And he can't keep dodging forever…_

The boy's pessimistic prediction was proven correct mere seconds later when his partner sidestepped to the left, tripping over a tree root and landing flat on his back as Indramon's shell slammed into the ground mere inches away from him. As the horse grinned evilly and raised the shell again, the world seemed to grind into slow motion. Henry watched the Deva raising his weapon with agonising slowness, calmly noting that as he prepared for an attack, his view was obscured by the massive shell.

_Gargomon's too slow to exploit that weakness, and I'm all out of Speed cards…_ the Tamer thought, reaching for his card holder and drawing a random card absent-mindedly. _He'll be blind for a second on the downswing too, so if I act fast…_

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Gargomon Digivolve to…**"

Gargomon was encased in a glowing green data sphere, which quickly shattered to reveal the rabbit's robotic Ultimate form. The Cyborg Digimon was covered in armour - green on his head, chest, hips, hands and calves and silver everywhere else. His lower legs were clad in what looked like medieval plate boots and connected to an armoured, spherical pelvis unit. His chest and head were also formed from armoured spheres, with a single cone-shaped horn and a pair of long, wing-like ears extending from the head. The Digimon's shoulders were made of silver half-spheres, connecting to two arms that were little more than a pair of cylindrical missile launchers tipped with three short, red claws in an approximation of a hand. Slung over the rabbit-like robot's back were a pair of multi-tubed rocket launchers, which swung around to point at Indramon's back as the cyborg announced his name and leapt into the air, dodging the descending shell with amazing speed.

"**…Rapidmon!**"

"WHAT?" Indramon roared as his shell slammed into the ground. "Where did he go?"

"Right behind you!" Rapidmon chuckled. "**Miracle Missiles!**"

The Deva roared as dozens of rockets slammed into his back, denting his lustrous golden armour. He heaved his weapon into the air, spinning around and trying to swat his opponent out of the air like an insect.

"Too slow!" the android chuckled as he easily dodged the clumsy blow and levelled his arms at the horse. "**Rapid Fire!**"

"GAH!" Indramon yelped as the twin missiles slammed into his chest and knocked him to the ground, a spiderweb of cracks appearing across the front of his breastplate. He glared at his opponent and slowly raised his weapon to his lips. "I am going to make you pay for that…**Horn of Deso-**"

"**Rapid Fire!**" Rapidmon interrupted and fired a pair of missiles into the mouth of the hollow shell. The missiles slammed into the back of the weapon and detonated right at the mouthpiece, shattering it and rendering the Deva's weapon useless.

"You…you broke my Bao Bei?" the horse gasped incredulously. "I am going to make you suffer a thousand deaths for your insolence! I will rip off your ears and use them as tennis racquets! I'll make you eat your own missiles! I'll…"

"Wow, and Henry says I have a big mouth…" the robo-rabbit grumbled as his opponent continued his tirade obliviously, the threats becoming more and more bizarre as he went on. With a dry chuckle, Rapidmon spread his arms out to the side and pressed his legs together, forming a T-shape out of his body. A red light began to form at the tips of his arms and feet, a line of light jumping from each point to form a glowing red triangle in mid-air. "You talk too much. **Tri-Beam!**"

A red, triangular beam of energy leapt from Rapidmon's body and struck Indramon in his open mouth. The Deva let out a gurgling scream as the beam tore through the back of his skull, his body fizzling and then disintegrating into data a moment later. As he absorbed the last traces of his opponent's data, the cyborg turned to his Tamer and said in an appalling Australian accent:

"BOOM! HEADSHOT!"

* * *

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

"WHAT?" Pajiramon shrieked, breaking off her bleating as the black-haired boy overcame her sleep-inducing attack and slashed an odd blue card through his D-Arc.

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Gaogamon, Digivolve to…**"

A pale blue data sphere encased the Digimon, shattering to reveal a ten-foot tall, bipedal wolf with the same blue fur as his previous forms. The wolf was wearing a strange black and white jumpsuit that left his arms and lower legs uncovered, revealing a host of robotic enhancements. His legs had been replaced with sleek, silver cybernetic versions ending in long claws, while his front paws had been replaced with a pair of oversized, bulky metal hands. What looked like a wrestler's championship belt was slung across his torso and a pair of jet engines extended from his back. The engines began firing, propelling the Ultimate-level Digimon into the air as he roared his name.

"**…MachGaogamon!**"

"This changes nothing!" Pajiramon snarled and glared at her adversary as she drew her bow. "**Treasure Bow!**"

"On the contrary, my dear Deva," MachGaogamon replied as he dodged the trio of arrows with impossible speed, his robotic arms transforming into a pair of cannons. "It changes everything! **Howling Cannon!**"

The sheep Deva shrieked in pain as her lupine opponent unleashed a pair of sonic blasts from his cannons, the sound waves slamming into her and sending her flying into a nearby tree. As she climbed unsteadily to her feet, she shook her head to try and clear it of the irritating ringing noise that was resounding through her skull.

"You pathetic fools…you should have let sleeping dogs lie!" Pajiramon shouted as she climbed to her feet. "**Lullaby Bleat!**"

MachGaogamon chuckled as the Deva began to bleat, her voice off-key by a long way. "Not so easy to sing when you can't hear, is it?"

"What have you done to me?" the deafened sheep gasped in horror, drawing her bow again. "I'm going to make you suffer for that! **Treasure Bow!**"

"**Gaoga Tornado!**" the werewolf roared in reply, flying towards his woolly foe with his fists clenched. At the last second, he jinked slightly to the side, then turned and started flying around the Deva in a tight circle.

"What…what's going on?" Pajiramon shrieked as her opponent increased his speed, kicking up a powerful wind as his engines screamed loud enough for even her near-deafened ears to hear them. Within seconds, a tornado had begun to form around the Deva and she was lifted into the air by the powerful winds. As MachGaogamon flew around her, he began punching and kicking at her, landing dozens of hits in rapid succession. The sheep was soon covered in blood and bruises and was thrown to the ground as the tornado died down, landing in a crumpled heap at her opponent's feet.

"**Winning Knuckles!**" the wolf roared, his right fist thundering towards the fallen Deva's head.

"Vaj…ra…m-" Pajiramon croaked as the metal fist slammed into her skull, crushing it like an eggshell and reducing her body to data. MachGaogamon absorbed the data and reverted to his Rookie form, falling to the ground in exhaustion a moment later.

* * *

"It appears that our dear brethren did not last as long as we had hoped. We shall have to move faster than planned…"

"Agreed."

* * *

"Two new Digivolutions in one battle," Henry chuckled as the odd quartet walked (or, in Terriermon's case, rode) home. "That's gotta be a new record!"

"Hell yeah! We're just _that _awesome!" Terriermon noted and did a quick victory dance atop his Tamer's head. "Man, Rika's gonna be pissed that she missed this fight…"

"Terriermon, language!" Henry said sternly, rapping his partner on the head with his knuckles.

"OW! Hey, don't ya know corporal punishment doesn't solve anything? Momen-"

A loud explosion coming from behind the group cut off the rabbit before he could finish his catchphrase. They turned around, seeing a pillar of smoke rising above the treeline.

"What the hell? _Another_ Bio-emergence?" Cam exclaimed as his D-Arc started shrieking incessantly.

"Can't we have just _one_ victory celebration without something going wrong?" Terriermon complained from his perch, drawing a quick glare from his companions. "What? I'm just saying…"

* * *

Minutes Earlier

Steph and Rika had, after what had seemed like an eternity, finally managed to convince Sam and Suzie to leave the redhead's hair alone and to let her put it back into its usual ponytail. Unfortunately, they had only managed to convince the younger girls by bribing them with an offer of sweets and chocolate, and so had been forced to take them to the local corner shop. Suzie, however, was not satisfied with just a few sweets, and demanded (with liberal use of her 'puppy-dog' eyes) that the older girls take them on a walk in the park. Rika, after subtly checking her D-Arc and seeing that the fight was over, reluctantly agreed on the unspoken condition that they stayed away from the area where the fight had happened, just in case they ran into the two boys and their Digimon on their way back from the battle.

"I don't get why they wanted to come out here," Steph grumbled, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. "It's freezing!"

"It's not that bad," Rika shrugged, drawing an incredulous glare from her friend. The Tamer's only concession to the cold was a dark purple hoody (which she was wearing unzipped, almost completely defeating the point of the extra layer).

"I hate winter," the blonde-haired girl muttered and shivered slightly.

"It's still autumn, Goldilocks. And it really isn't that cold," the redhead sighed, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Whatever. Let's just get this stupid walk over with so you can teach me how to beat Cam on Armored Core."

"That's gonna take a _lot_ of teaching," the Tamer muttered and rolled her eyes. "Don't tell Cam I said this, but he's probably the best player I've ev-"

Rika was interrupted by her D-Arc letting out a loud alarm tone from her pocket. The girl quickly retrieved the offending device and glanced at the screen with a confused frown. Her confusion soon turned to outright fear as she saw a digital signal moving towards them at high speed.

"Steph, get Sam and Suzie out of here! NOW!" she barked, reaching out telepathically to Renamon and scanning the treeline as her blonde-haired friend ran towards the younger girls. "Come on…where are you?"

"Rika, look out!" Sam's voice screamed and the redhead turned to see an enormous serpentine green-scaled dragon flying towards her, the hairs of his whiskers and tail glowing gold.

"**Bao Shi!**" the dragon roared and over a dozen of the glowing hairs detached from his body, transforming into flaming arrows in mid-flight and arcing towards the lone girl at incredible speed.

_"RIKA!"_

When the arrows were mere feet away from the Tamer, she felt something large and heavy slam into her from the side, knocking her out of the path of the attack. Rika caught a glimpse of golden fur before the flaming projectiles struck the ground a few metres behind her, creating a powerful shockwave that sent both the girl and her saviour flying through the air. The redhead landed hard on the concrete path, skidding for several feet before rolling onto the softer grass.

"Excellent shot, Majiramon!" a high-pitched, though obviously male voice cackled maniacally.

"Thank you," the dragon replied, its deep and majestic voice a sharp contrast to its companion. "Shall I finish them off?"

"Not just yet - I'm having too much fun!"

Rika groaned as she climbed shakily to her feet, looking to her right and seeing her partner sprawled face down on the floor a few metres away. "Renamon!" she cried as she ran to the kitsune's side.

The girl began to worry when Renamon failed to reply, and she rolled the vulpine Digimon over to see that she had been knocked unconscious. A mad cackling drew her attention away from her partner and she looked up, noticing a monkey riding on the dragon's back.

"You people make me sick!" he snarled and clenched his right fist, a golden glow gathering around it. "Treating Digimon like pets…it's insulting, and I'm going to make you pay! **Primal Orb!**"

A flame-wreathed ball made of solid gold appeared in the monkey's hand and he drew back his arm, throwing it at the Tamer and Digimon with all his might. As the odd projectile soared towards them, Rika felt her fear overwhelm her and she buried her face in her partner's fur, a scream tearing itself from her lips. After a few seconds, realizing that she was still alive, she hesitantly pulled away from Renamon and looked around to discover that they had been encased in a transparent golden sphere about three metres in diameter.

"Oh, that was priceless!" the monkey laughed loudly. "The look on your face when you thought you were going to die! Oh, that was PERFECT!"

"Makuramon…" the dragon growled in a warning tone. "Need I remind you that we are pressed for time?"

"Oh, this will only take a second," he replied with an evil grin as a golden glow appeared around his fist again.

A flash of pink caught Rika's eye, and she turned to see Sam, Suzie and Steph all stood at the edge of a nearby patch of woodland. They were watching the one-sided battle with obvious horror and it didn't seem to have occurred to them that they should leave.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the redhead yelled, shocking them out of their reverie. "RUN! GET HELP!"

"I don't think so…" Makuramon giggled as the three girls turned and began to run away from the battleground. "**Primal Orb!**"

"NO!" Rika screamed as the trio were encased in a golden orb similar to her own. The orb levitated into the air and began floating back towards the two Devas, Majiramon wrapping his long, serpentine tail around it as it came closer. "Leave them alone! They've done nothing to you - they aren't even Tamers!"

"But my dear," the monkey chuckled and fixed her with a psychotic stare. "They are the reason we are here!"

"W-what?" the Tamer stammered as the crazed Deva burst into laughter.

"Makuramon, we are running out of time!" the dragon snarled angrily. "Finish them or I will do it for you!"

"Oh, fine!" Makuramon sighed and held out his right hand, slowly closing it into a fist.

"Oh, crap!" Rika cursed as her glowing prison began to shrink. Very soon, the roof was low enough for her to touch and she stood up, placing her hands against it and pushing in a useless attempt to stop the shrinking of the sphere.

"RIKA!" a pair of male voices yelled from behind her as two more voices called out angrily.

"**Winning Knuckles!**"

"**Rapid Fire!**"

A massive blue-furred werewolf that Rika recognized as MachGaogamon slammed his fist into the golden sphere, shattering it as a pair of missiles roared past overhead, arcing towards the enormous dragon. Makuramon launched another Primal Orb from Majiramon's back, though this time the flaming ball detonated in mid-air and sent out a shockwave that shredded the missiles. As Rapidmon took aim for another attack, the dragon Deva twisted his body and held up the orb wrapped in his tail as a shield.

"I recommend that you tell your partner to hold his fire, _human_," he spat, glaring at Henry with undisguised hatred. "Unless you want to kill your precious sister…"

"Suzie!" the blue-haired Tamer gasped as he caught sight of the girl through the sphere's transparent walls. Both she and Sam were clutching on to Steph and weeping in terror. "Let them go you bastard! Or I swear, I'll…I'll…"

"Oh! Pathetic little human can't fight without killing his friends!" Makuramon cackled and clicked his fingers. "Come on, let's get out of here - the Sovereign shall be pleased with our work!"

"NO!" the Tamers and Digimon cried out as one as a Digital Field swirled into existence around the Devas, disappearing a moment later and leaving no trace of either the evil Digimon or their friends.

The group stood there in silence for over a minute, too shocked to even consider talking. Eventually, Rapidmon and MachGaogamon de-Digivolved and it was the blue-furred Rookie who spoke up first.

"What do we do?"

"We go after them," Rika replied, a dangerous edge in her voice. "We need to find a portal to the Digital World. When we've done that, we can go through a-"

"That may not be such a good idea," Henry interrupted reluctantly, his fists clenched at his sides.

"WHAT?" the redhead yelled and whirled to face the boy. "They have our sisters. Our _sisters_! And you just want to sit around and do nothing?"

"No! I just mean that we need time to prepare, and we'll need all the help we can get. Besides, if you hadn't noticed, you and Renamon aren't exactly in the best shape right now."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine!" the girl protested with a confused frown.

"Rika," Cam said in a soft, concerned voice. "Look at yourself."

Rika did as he said and was stunned by what she saw. Her jeans were completely shredded from the knee down, and her legs were dripping with blood from where she had scraped them during her rough landing after Majiramon's attack. Looking at her hands, she saw that her palms had fared little better, with blood running off of them in rivulets. A quick glance at Renamon revealed a pair of bloody handprints on the kitsune's otherwise-pristine white chest fur.

"What…I don't…" the girl mumbled and gasped in agony, the pain from her injuries hitting her all at once now that she had noticed them.

"Hey, easy there," Cam said gently as the wounded Tamer stumbled and he caught her by the arm. "We need to get you home."

"No, I'm fine!" Rika protested through gritted teeth, fighting to stop the tears of pain from escaping her eyes.

"No, you're not," the black-haired boy said firmly. "We need to clean you up or those wounds could get infected. There's nothing we can do right now."

"I…fine…" she conceded, shrugging Cam's hand off of her arm and taking a few shaky steps towards her still-unconscious partner.

"Leave that to us," Gaomon said gently and hoisted the much-larger Digimon over his shoulders, creating an image that would have been quite funny had the situation not been so serious. "Let's go."


	21. Chapter 21

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One: Into the Mouth of Hell**

Monday 8th November - 5:11pm

Nonaka Residence

Seiko Hata sighed contentedly as she took a sip from her steaming cup of tea. The woman was laid on the living room sofa with a book she had borrowed from Miranda. It was a thriller about some sort of criminal psychologist - not the type of thing that Seiko would usually have read, but she was enjoying it nonetheless.

"Are you enjoying the book?" Miranda called from the kitchen.

"Yes, it's excellent, thank you. Very well written, and the storyline is very involving."

"Yes, it is isn't…" the housekeeper started to reply, trailing off as the kitchen door slammed open. "Oh, God! Rika!"

Seiko leapt to her feet, hobbling to the kitchen as fast as her injured leg would carry her. When she finally made her way into the room, she let out a gasp of horror as she saw her granddaughter being supported by a tall, heavyset boy that she didn't recognize. The girl's jeans and hoody were shredded and her hands and lower legs were covered in blood.

"Rika! What happened?" the older woman asked, leaning on a chair for support.

"We were attacked," the redhead mumbled, shrugging the unfamiliar boy's hand off of her arm and limping into the room. "Two of them…they caught us by surprise…"

"Who attacked you?" Miranda asked, helping the girl to a chair and completely ignoring her protests. "And where's Sam?"

"They…they took her."

"WHAT? Who took her?" the Irishwoman exclaimed in horror, a bewildered look passing across her face as the unconscious form of Renamon was carried into the room by Henry Wong and two odd creatures that looked like a green and white rabbit and a blue teddy bear with boxing gloves. "And what the HELL are they?"

"Terriermon, at your service!" the rabbit-creature chirped and leapt onto a chair, performing a small bow as he landed.

"I…I…I…" the woman stammered and promptly fainted.

"You see - _that's_ the kind of reaction I want!"

"Terriermon…"

* * *

While she was cleaning and bandaging Rika's wounds in the living room, Cam and Gaomon gave Seiko a brief explanation of what had happened. The woman remained surprisingly calm through it all, refusing to let her emotions get the better of her. Miranda woke up about halfway through the explanation, and Henry left with Terriermon to give her the "Digimon are real" talk. By the time both explanations were finished, Renamon was still unconscious on the living room sofa with Rika sat beside her, gazing at the wounded kitsune with concern. As Henry re-entered the room with Miranda, Seiko stood up and took the younger woman by the arm, leading her into the kitchen to give her a follow-up talk and give the Tamers and Digimon some space. The group sat there for several minutes before Rika broke the silence.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You guys must hate me right now…"

"Uh, why is that?" Cam asked with a confused frown, shooting a brief glare at Terriermon to stop the rabbit's predictable reply.

"I screwed up. I let those…_monsters_ take Suzie and Steph," she replied as if the answer were obvious.

"You didn't _let _them do anything," Henry said firmly. "They caught you by surprise and nearly killed you. Somebody had to have planned this in advance - the attack by Pajiramon and Indramon was obviously a diversion."

"I should have been more alert!" the redhead snarled. "I let my guard down and Sam and the others g-"

"Stop right there," Gaomon interrupted and looked into the girl's eyes. "The attack caught us _all_ by surprise - we could never have predicted that there would be two Bio-emergences in one day. Besides, it is unrealistic to expect yourself to be constantly alert and on guard - I have lived a life like that and I can tell you now that it is not easy, even for a seasoned warrior."

"I…I just feel so…useless!" Rika sighed, gazing at her partner again.

"Sometimes we're all a little useless," Terriermon said softly, drawing a surprised look from his Tamer. "You and Renamon were in a fight with two Devas all by yourself - even if you'd managed to Digivolve her to Taomon, you'd probably still have got suckered by that golden ball thing and you'd have been lunch for the big dragon guy. There are just some fights you can't win."

"You obviously don't know your Star Trek," the redhead muttered coldly and looked up, a dangerous look in her eye. "I don't believe in a no-win scenario."

At that point, Renamon groaned quietly and stirred, opening her eyes with visible effort. _"Rika? Are you there?"_

_"I'm here," _the girl replied, placing a hand on her partner's paw.

_"What…happened?" _the kitsune gasped and struggled to force herself into a sitting position, ignoring the protests from all those in the room. _"Is everyone alright?"_

_"N-no…"_ Rika stammered and began telepathically explaining the events of the battle.

"Oh, great…they're doing the whole mind-link thing aren't they?" Terriermon muttered in irritation.

"I think so," Henry replied. "Guess it must be easier than talking."

"Yeah…look, I think I'd better go find Takato and fill him in on all this stuff," Cam sighed and got to his feet. "I'll see if I can get him to sneak out and come round here for a 'Council of War'-type of thing."

"Good idea," Gaomon nodded. "I shall follow you in the shadows, just in case there is another attack."

"Alright. See you guys in a little while."

* * *

Less than half an hour later, all four of the Tamers were gathered in the Nonaka Family's living room. They quickly decided on a plan of action - Henry, Terriermon, Cam and Gaomon would search the area for a portal to the Digital World (apparently, Ryo had once told Rika that where there were Bio-emergences, there would be a portal nearby), while Rika would call Yamaki and arrange for an Ark to be prepared to help get them back home. Takato insisted that he and Guilmon would stay with the girl just in case another Deva Bio-emerged, as Renamon was still nowhere near healthy enough to fight. The injured partners, after constant badgering from all of their fellow Tamers and even Miranda and Seiko, reluctantly agreed. The kitsune, after even more badgering from her own Tamer, retreated to one of the spare bedrooms to rest and gather her strength while the girl made contact with HYPNOS.

* * *

"I DON'T CARE WHAT TIME IT IS OVER THERE! GET YAMAKI OUT OF BED AND ON THE PHONE _**NOW**_!" Rika screamed down the phone at the latest in a long line of HYPNOS-employed telephone operators she had been forwarded to.

_[__"Yes, ma'am!"__] _the terrified man squeaked in reply, an irritatingly cheerful piece of music starting to play through the speaker as he put the girl on hold.

"I hate phones…" the redhead muttered and switched the offending item over to speakerphone, throwing it down on the sofa next to her with an irritated sigh.

"Is scary Rika still being scary?" she heard Guilmon whisper and turned to see the red Digimon cowering behind an armchair at the far end of the room.

"I heard that."

"Ummm…it was Takatomon!"

"Even Cam wouldn't fall for that one, boy…" Takato sighed and sat back in his chair. "Look, Rika…are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied, gritting her teeth as she shifted in her seat and caused a new flare of agony in her knees. "It's just a few scratches."

"And you say _I'm_ a bad liar…" the boy chuckled, noticing his friend's obvious pain. "Anyway, that's not what I meant. Are you…you know…okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied again, her fists trying to clench unconsciously but stopping as another wave of pain washed over the girl. "When I get my hands on those Devas, I'm gonna make them wish th-"

"Rika, stop it," Takato interrupted with a concerned look at the redhead. "Just drop the whole 'Ice Queen' act. We both know it doesn't work on me."

Rika blinked in surprise. Nobody had ever spoken to her like that and Takato was one of the last people she would have expected to do so. With a sigh, she realized that he was right - the boy hadn't been scared away by the dreaded Ice Queen when they had first met, and had seen the state she had been left in after the IceDevimon incident. He knew the act was just that.

"I…I guess you have a point," she conceded quietly, drawing a tiny smile from her fellow Tamer.

"Phew! For a second there I thought that was gonna backfire on me and you'd rip me to shreds!" he chuckled and shook his head. "The question still stands, by the way. How are you holding up?"

"I…I guess I'm scared," the redhead replied eventually, her voice little more than a whisper. "I mean, me and Renamon have been hurt before, but that's the first time we've ever really lost a fight. Even when it was stuff like Monochromon or Musyamon or…IceDevimon…someone always came along and kicked their ass. Today, they ripped us apart and we couldn't even manage to fight back properly, even _with_ help. And now…" she trailed off as a shudder ran down her spine. "Now Sam and the others are paying the price."

"Cam and Gaomon warned me you were doing that," the brown-haired Tamer sighed, continuing when he saw Rika's confused look. "They told me about what you said earlier, how you were blaming yourself for what happened."

"I…I know there's nothing I could have done, but…if anything happened to them, I don't know if I could…" the girl trailed off, switching to a more sarcastic tone. "And anyway, it's not like you guys would be doing the exact same thing or anything."

"Heh, you've got me there. But if this had happened to me, you'd call me a 'stupid Gogglehead', tell me to stop beating myself up over stuff I can't change and that any one of us would have been eaten alive in the same situation."

"While blaming myself for not being there," Rika chuckled and shook her head gently.

"Exactly. So, feeling better?"

"A little, I guess," the redhead replied in a surprised tone. "Thanks Goggles."

Guilmon, who had dozed off during the conversation between the two humans, suddenly snapped awake and sniffed the air hungrily. "I smell food!"

As the dinosaur spoke, Rika heard a cupboard door in the kitchen slam closed. It was probably Miranda getting ready to prepare that evening's meal.

"Uh, if Dino Boy can smell food from this distance, why aren't you guys out hunting for the portal instead of Cam and Gaomon?" the girl asked with a confused frown.

"Well, there's a couple of reasons. Firstly, my parents are gonna be out looking for me since I ran off halfway through my shift. And second…" Takato trailed off with a sheepish grin. "I wanted to make sure you weren't gonna try to pull a Rambo and go on a one-woman Deva hunt."

"I doubt she'd have made it very far if she'd tried," Seiko laughed quietly as she walked past the living room supported by a pair of crutches. "That boy Cam practically had to carry her home! And if she _had _tried it, even I would have been able to catch up with her."

At that moment, the cheerful 'on hold' music coming from the abandoned telephone abruptly cut off, being replaced by a man's groggy voice.

_[__"Hello?"__]_ the voice mumbled, making Rika jump. She had forgotten all about her phone call to Yamaki.

"Yamaki? We have a problem…"

* * *

Takato remained silent as the girl briefly explained the situation to Yamaki along with a brief (and reluctant) update on the recent changes to her family. The head of HYPNOS assured her that he would have an Ark ready within the week. Unfortunately, as the previous adventures of the Tamers based in Japan had shown them, there was no reliable way for a person to make contact with Earth once they had entered the Digital World, meaning that the Tamers would have to rendezvous with the Ark at a pre-arranged time and location with no room for error.

When Rika finally put the phone down, it was after 6:30pm and the two search parties had returned to report that they had discovered a portal in the disused sewers near where the group had fought Dokugumon. Fortunately, the cave-in they had triggered to bury the KoDokugumon horde had not blocked access to the portal, meaning that they could leave as soon as they were ready. Cam and the redhead were all for leaving as soon as possible, but were met by staunch opposition by the more moderate voices of their friends and the girl's grandmother.

* * *

"Wait until tomorrow? Are you nuts?" Rika exclaimed at Takato's suggestion. "Every second we wait is another second that they're stuck in the Digital World with a human-hating psychopath!"

"She's right, mate. We just can't afford to wait that long," Cam agreed.

"And what do you think is going to happen if we just disappear?" Henry asked rhetorically.

"He's right," Seiko added with a nod. "If you four just run off without telling anybody, that would make seven children disappearing in one evening. Your parents would be worried sick, not to mention the fact that the media would be all over it."

"Yeah, and if that happened, we'd never be able to keep our Digimon a secret," Takato finished with a frown.

"Oh, yeah? And what do you think will happen when you tell your mum where you're going?" the black-haired boy chuckled. "Takato, your mum would leap into that portal after you and drag you all the way home. Hell, my dad would probably break my legs if he found out what I'd been doing."

"We don't have a choice," Henry sighed. "It's not fair on them to just disappear without telling anybody. And what about Steph's parents? They deserve to know what's happened to her."

"I…ah, damn it…" the redhead muttered. "Okay, I guess you have a point. We'll wait until morning - about eight-thirty? That should give you guys enough time to tell your parents, right?"

"Aren't we forgetting somebody?" Seiko said with a pointed look at her granddaughter.

"M-me? But mum's still in London - she won't be back until Fri-"

"Oh, really?" the woman interrupted with her best 'no nonsense' face, smirking when she saw the girl's confused face. "Don't think you're getting out of it that easily. I called her while you were on the phone to Yamaki and told her to get on the first plane home. She'll be here at around nine."

"Okay…" the redhead sighed, saving her ranting for Renamon through their telepathic link. _"GAAAAAHHHHHHH!"_

"I just had a thought," Gaomon said quietly. "You are all going to be missing a lot of school. How will we explain it away? I mean, five friends all 'off sick' at the same time will look rather suspicious, not to mention Sam and Suzie's absence."

"We'll leave that up to your parents," Seiko assured the boy. "We'll agree on a story that will excuse you all. It will have to be something that would scare them enough not to question it…hmmm…how does swine flu sound?"

"Perfect," Henry nodded. "Mr Arnold is a total hypochondriac - he'll be begging us not to go in. So, how are we gonna tell Steph's parents?"

"It might be best if your father were to handle that, Henry. He is much more knowledgeable about all things Digital than the rest of us and it may be a little more believable if this all comes from an adult," the woman replied and glanced at her watch. "By the way, it might be an idea if you were to head home now. It's getting late and I'm sure some of your parents will be worried."

"Or mad as hell," Takato chuckled and stood up, patting his partner's snout affectionately. "Come on, boy. Time to introduce you to my parents…"

"Heh, we've got it easy!" Terriermon grinned. "I already know half of Henry's family!"

"No matter how much they'd prefer it to be otherwise…" Gaomon muttered.

* * *

Digital World, Unknown Level - Time Unknown

_Where…where am I? _Steph thought groggily as she opened her eyes, revealing a dimly-lit, square-shaped cell. Three of the walls were made of grey stone, while the wall furthest from the girl was instead made up of iron bars and looked out onto a long, equally-dim corridor made of the same grey stone as her cell's walls. _What the hell happened?_

Suddenly, the events of the day came rushing back to her. She had been taken by the two Devas into the Digital World, where they had been met by an enormous bull-like creature. After that, she had felt a sudden drowsiness come over her and she had lost consciousness.

"H-hello?" the blonde-haired girl called out hesitantly. "Is anybody there?"

A weak groan from behind her caught Steph's attention and she turned to see Suzie and Sam laid on the floor, softly stirring as the noise woke them up. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom and they saw their unfamiliar surroundings, the two girls snapped awake and began to cry in fear.

"Sshhh…it's okay," the older girl said quietly, pulling both of them into a hug in an attempt to comfort them.

"Pathetic…" a voice growled and the blonde-haired girl turned to see a hunched, vaguely dog-like silhouette stood at the bars of the cage. "You humans make me sick. Power taken from a source as weak as you is power that is not worth having."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice tinged with fear and confusion.

"You'll find out soon enough," the dog chuckled menacingly and turned, padding away slowly down the shadowy corridor.

The strange dog-creature's sinister words broke Steph's resolve. With a choked sob, she pulled the two younger girls into an even tighter hug and began crying quietly, an all-consuming tidal wave of despair overwhelming her heart.

_Help me…Takato…Cam…Rika…Henry…

* * *

_

Near Matsuki Family Bakery - 6:42pm

Takato poked his head out from between a pair of parked cars and glanced around nervously, making sure that there was nobody nearby before he whispered a hurried "Come on!" to the large cardboard box next to him. The box began moving quickly and quietly across the road, making its way towards the Matsuki Family Bakery as stealthily as possible. When the boy and the box had reached the bakery's rear entrance, the Tamer breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door, announcing his presence in a nervous voice.

"Mum, dad! I'm home!"

Mei Matsuki's response was immediate and violent. She leapt off of her seat on the living room sofa and stormed into the hallway, fixing her son with a vicious glare before beginning her rant.

"WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN?" she roared, causing Takehiro to wince behind her as he followed his wife out of the room. "We have been worried SICK! What the HELL do you think you're playing at, just walking out of the bakery? You're meant to be grounded!"

"Look, I can explai-"

"I don't CARE about your excuses!" the woman shrieked, her husband covering his ears behind her. "Back me up here, Takehiro!"

"Actually," the man said reluctantly, seeing the desperate look in his son's eyes. "I think we'd better hear him out."

Mei began to protest, but was quickly silenced by her husband's rarely-used 'I won't be argued with' face. With a sigh, she turned to her son and fixed him with another glare.

"This had better be good…"

"Okay…you remember that TV show Digimon that I used to really like?" Takato started, continuing when his parents nodded in unison. "Well, it turns out it's more than just a TV show. Digimon are real and they've been attacking this world for months, and it's my job to stop them with my Digimon partner Guilmon."

"Digimon?" his father mumbled, confusion and disbelief written across his face.

"Is this…is this some kind of a joke?" Mei asked, her voice tinged with anger. "You really expect us to believe that load of bull-"

"I can prove it," the boy interrupted, dragging his parents to the door and pointing to the cardboard box sat outside. "Guilmon, you can come out now."

The two adults jumped as the box began to stir, leaning forwards in fascination before jumping again as a red, lizard-like head tore its way through the top of the box.

"Hi!" the head said cheerfully, a three-clawed hand tearing through the box next to it and waving at the stunned Matsukis.

"Th-th-th-that's a D-d-d-d-digim-m-m-m-mon…" the woman stammered, her knees going weak with surprise.

"I think we'd better get inside," Takehiro suggested, taking his wife by the shoulders and leading her back to the living room.

"You heard him boy," the Tamer said and motioned to his partner to come through the door. The childlike Digimon gave a small cheer and lashed out with his claws, shredding the box as he leapt through the door.

"This is gonna be a long night…"

* * *

"So…that's the gist of it," Takato finished with a nervous grin.

"Let me get this straight," his mother said slowly, her voice rising in both pitch and volume as she continued. "Giant monsters are launching attacks on our town, you have been going off and risking your life fighting them every day for the past three months, that…creature is somehow linked to you, several of your friends have been kidnapped by these monsters and now you want to go to another world to rescue them?"

"That's pretty much it, yeah…" the boy nodded, forcing a determined look onto his face.

"Have you LOST YOUR MIND? You're just a child! You can't really expect us to let you go on this trip!"

"It's not a 'trip'," Takato replied, fighting to keep his voice level. "My friends are in danger and if I don't do something, they're gonna end up dead. I _have _to do this."

Mei's next round of protests was cut off by Takehiro. who placed his hands on his son's shoulders and looked him in the eye before speaking. "Takato…are you sure that this is the only way to save your friends?"

"I'm sure, dad," the Tamer replied without hesitation, meeting his father's gaze.

"Then you have my blessing."

"Takehiro!" Mei gasped at her husband's words. "He's just a child!"

"As you have said already. Look at him, Mei. You know that look. He's not going to back down on this and we'd be wrong to try to stop him," the man said firmly, then glanced at his son and cracked a small smile a second later. "Besides, I doubt we'd be able to stop him if we tried."

"I…I know…it's just that…" the woman conceded reluctantly, tears streaming down her face as she leapt at her only child and gripped him in an agonizingly-tight hug. "Why did it have to be our baby?"

* * *

Nonaka Residence - 9:26pm

"I'm home!" Rumiko called as she entered the house with typical lateness.

"We're in the living room!" her mother replied and the blonde-haired woman followed the voice to find both and Rika sat down on separate seats, the girl looking decidedly nervous.

"So, what's the emergency?" Rumiko asked with a confused frown as she sat down on the sofa next to her daughter. She noticed that the girl was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of leather gloves and a pair of jeans that were much baggier than what she usually wore. _Oh, Rika…not another crime against fashion!_

"Rika has something she needs to talk to you about," the older woman said softly and stood up, walking to the door with a reassuring smile at her granddaughter. "I'll leave you two alone."

The pair sat there in an awkward silence for almost a minute before Rika finally spoke up. "Mum I…I've got something to tell you…"

_Oh, gods, she's coming out!

* * *

_

"Mum I…I've got something to tell you…" Rika said hesitantly, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You know the Digimon card game I play?"

"Yes…" her mother replied as her confused look leapt back onto her face.

"Well…it turns out it's not just a card game. Digimon are real."

Rumiko sat there in open-mouthed shock for several seconds before she finally managed to find her voice. "W-what?"

"I'm what's called a Tamer. That means I have my own Digimon partner. There are others like me in England and a few more in Japan."

"I…see…" the woman said slowly, her face an emotionless mask. "And how long have you been…seeing these things?"

The girl felt her temper flare at her mother's words. "You think I'm nuts," she spat with a glare.

"Oh, Rika, listen to yourself!" Rumiko cried and gripped her daughter in a tight hug. "Can't you hear what you're saying? It's not possible!"

"I'm not crazy!" the redhead snapped and pushed her mother away. "Digimon are real and I can prove it! That 'hit and run accident' I was in was a Digi-"

"Oh, that's _got _to be it!" the woman interrupted as she began crying. "You must have taken a knock to the head in that accident! Don't worry, baby - we'll get you the best care available!"

"Oh, for the love of…" Rika muttered as her mother continued her ranting. "That's it, time for Plan B. Renamon!"

"You called?" the kitsune said evenly as she materialized in the middle of the room, right in front of Rumiko.

"B-b-b-but that's a D-d-d-di-d-digi…" she stammered before shaking her head and calling out in a perfectly normal voice. "Mother? Could you come in here for just a second?"

"Yes, dear? What is it?" Seiko asked as she stepped into the room.

"Could you just have a quick look around the room and tell me what you see?" the blonde-haired woman asked with a false smile.

"Why, of course," her mother replied and glanced around the room. "I see you and Rika sat on the couch, and Renamon stood right over there by the table. Hello, Renamon!"

"Hello, Ms Hata."

"So…you can see her too?" Rumiko asked.

"Yes, dear."

"So, I'm not hallucinating."

"No, dear."

"So, Digimon are real."

"Yes dear."

"Thank you, mother."

"You're welcome," Seiko replied with a small smile and left the room.

"So…" Rumiko said after another long, awkward silence. "You're a Digimon?"

"Yes," Renamon replied with a practically-invisible smirk.

"And I'm guessing that you're my daughter's…partner?"

"Yes."

"So, what do you two…do as partners?"

"We, uh…" Rika started to say, trailing off as she tried to find a good way to put the next part.

"We fight."

_"Hey! I was trying to break it to her gently!"_

_"You would have been trying for a very long time…"_

"You…fight?" the woman gasped in shock.

"Um, yeah. You see, not all Digimon who come to Earth are as friendly as Renamon. Actually, _most _of them aren't. They attack the first thing they see and it's our job to stop them before they cause too much damage."

"But you're only twelve years old! You can't do that kind of thing!" Rumiko protested and grabbed her daughter's hands in a tight grip. "What if you got hurt or…"

The woman was cut off by Rika's pained yelp. Frowning in confusion, she looked down at the girl's hands, realization dawning on her as she noticed the pair of gloves.

"Rika…take off your gloves," she said in her best 'do it or die' voice.

The redhead complied with a dejected sigh, pulling off the leather gloves to reveal her bandaged hands. Her mother let out a little squeak of horror and took her by the hands again, though much more gently this time.

"Oh, Rika…" Rumiko sighed, tears returning to her eyes once again. "What happened to you?"

"I…I was out with Sam and a couple of friends earlier today when two Digimon jumped us," the girl began in a quiet voice, inwardly cursing herself for her cry of pain. "They just came out of nowhere…Renamon was knocked out before I even knew what was happening."

"Where's Sam? Is she alright?" the woman asked in a horrified tone, frowning and grabbing her daughter by the shoulders when she looked away and didn't reply. "Rika…what happened to Sam?"

"They took her," the Tamer whispered, fighting to control her fury as she shook with rage. "They set up a distraction and sacrificed two of their friends to keep the other Tamers busy…just so that they could kidnap Sam and the others."

"Oh my…we have to do something!" Rumiko gasped and leapt to her feet. "We have to call the police! Or the military! Or th-"

"NO!" Rika interrupted, staring into her mother's eyes with a determined look. "Sam and the others were taken to the Digital World. The military wouldn't even know how to get there and there's no way they'd be able to fit tanks and stuff through a portal."

"You…you can't possibly be suggesting that-"

"I'm going," the redhead said firmly. "Sam is my sister, and Steph and Suzie are my friends. I'm not just gonna abandon them."

"But you're injured!" the woman protested desperately.

"I've had worse," Rika replied and instantly regretted her words.

"You've had…" Rumiko mumbled, her eyes widening as she remembered her daughter's earlier words. "The…the accident in Japan…that was a Digimon?"

"Yeah…"

"What if that happens again? Who knows if they have hospitals in the Digital World? You could be killed!"

"She won't be," Renamon said firmly and looked the woman in the eye. "Both Rika and I have become much stronger in the months since the…_incident_ in Japan. Such a dire outcome is not likely to happen again."

"But she just got hurt today!" Rumiko protested angrily.

"It's just a few cuts and bruises," Rika reassured her. "I'm fine, really."

"And if it comes down to it," her partner added, her voice as hard as iron. "I swear to you that I will protect Rika with my life."

_"R-Renamon…"_

"I…I…" the woman stammered before slumping back onto the sofa and sighing in defeat. "When were you planning on leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning at about eight-thirty," the girl replied.

"So soon? Shouldn't you take more time to prepare?"

"I don't want Sam to be stuck with Zhuqiaomon any longer than she has to be. I wanted to leave tonight, but grandma…"

"I got the feeling this wasn't your idea," Rumiko said with a dry chuckle. "Rika I…I know I don't say this as often as I should, but…I love you."

"I…love you too," the redhead replied, managing to suppress a yelp of pain as her mother pulled her into a tight hug and accidentally bumped her knee against the sofa.

When the woman finally released her daughter, she fixed the girl with a sad smile. "It's getting pretty late. If you're leaving early tomorrow you'd better get some sleep."

"Okay. G'night."

As Rika trudged wearily up the stairs to her bedroom, she reached out telepathically to her partner. _"Thank God she didn't notice my legs…good call on the baggy jeans, by the way."_

_"It was the only way for us to hide your bandages. I am surprised, however, that she didn't notice from the way you were walking."_

_"They do make it a little hard to bend my knees…besides, I think she had too much other stuff on her mind to notice."_

_"I can only imagine…"_

_"Yeah…Renamon, about what you said earlier…I…"_

_"I know."

* * *

_

Tuesday 9th November - 8:18am

Kirkfield Park Digital Portal

"Whoa…" Takato sighed as he, his parents and Guilmon rounded a corner and caught sight of the Digital Portal.

It was mesmerizing. Floating about six inches off of the ground was a ragged oval-shaped tear in the air. A bright bluish-white light shone from the tear, tiny motes of sky blue and golden light dancing around it like fireflies before fading away and being reborn again mere seconds later. Fortunately the portal was not far from the entrance to the sewers - only a couple of minutes' walk. As the boy stared into the hole in reality, he could almost make out a heavily-blurred image of something on the other side.

"It's pretty cool, huh?" a voice called from behind the Tamer and his family, making them all jump.

"Cam!" Takato said in surprise as he recognized the voice and turned around to see his friend leaning against the wall, alone except for his partner. "How come you're so early? And where are your parents?"

"Got into a fight with my dad…again…" the taller boy chuckled and shrugged. It was common knowledge that Cam and his father did not see eye-to-eye on…well, anything. "Besides, you're early too. What happened to the 'fashionably late' Takato we all know and…tolerate?"

"Haha, very funny…and my mum decided that we'd better get here early so there was less chance of me being late."

"Actually, I was hoping to get here twenty minutes ago, but _someone_," Mei growled with a glare at her husband. "Decided to set off a little pyrotechnic display in the living room."

"The label said 'flame-retardant'!" Takehiro protested with a sheepish look.

"That didn't mean you had to get your lighter out to test it!"

"Do your parents fight over stuff like this?" the brown-haired boy asked with a weary glance at his fellow Tamer.

"No…mostly it's just stuff about money or the TV remote or whatever," Cam replied with a grin. "So…how many sets of curtains is that so far?"

"Three since we started back at school."

"For the love of Goddramon, please tell me you didn't tell him that Guilmon breathes fire," Gaomon sighed wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"No, I managed to keep that one a secret," Takato chuckled and patted his partner on the head. "We don't need the whole town to burn down."

"Yeah, 'cause that would be _so _horrible…" the black-haired boy laughed and scratched his chin. "So…you nervous about this?"

"Are you kidding me? I nearly crapped my pants when I saw that thing!"

"Same here."

"And here," a girl's voice called out from the two boys' right and they turned to see Rika approaching them accompanied by her mother and grandmother.

"You? Nervous?" Cam laughed incredulously.

"Like I told Goggles - everybody gets scared. I'm just good at ignoring it."

"Ya know, some people would call that a lack of common sense…"

"Terriermon!" five voices barked as one and the group turned to see the entire Wong family (minus Suzie, of course) walking towards them.

"Ow…nagging in surround sound…"

"Hey, Henry," Takato greeted the Half-Chinese Tamer.

"Hey."

The adults quickly gravitated towards each other, striking up uncomfortable conversations in an attempt to suppress their fears for their respective child's (or children's) safety. Henry's elder siblings, Jaarin and Rinchei, stood separate from both the adults and children, their age setting them apart from both groups.

"How did your mum take the news?" Cam asked Henry with a concerned look on his face.

"Badly," the blue-haired boy replied with a frown. "She just kept crying and crying…Steph's parents were even worse, though, when my dad told them. Her mum nearly went berserk."

"Gods…" Rika whispered to herself and stared at the floor for a second, looking back up with a look of steely determination. "We're gonna get them back. I'm not about to let my sister get hurt by some overgrown lizard and a chimp with table manners."

"Hell yes to that!" Cam agreed, standing up straight and cracking his knuckles. "Those Devas won't know what hit 'em!"

"We'll pound them into dust!" Terriermon declared, punching the palm of his right hand.

"And Zhuqiaomon along with them!" his partner added, nodding his head and clenching his fists.

"People…let's go take down a Sovereign!" Takato cheered and punched the air, leading the group towards the portal.

"Not so fast!" The boy's mother snarled, fixing him with a glare before pulling him into a tearful hug. "Be careful, Takato."

"I will."

"Takato," his father said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder and looking him in the eye as soon as he had been released from the hug. "I want you to know that whatever happens, I am very proud of you."

"Thanks, dad," the goggle-wearing Tamer smiled and allowed his father to pull him into a hug as well.

The other Tamers (with the exception of Cam) all faced similar goodbyes, with Henry being subjected to an enormous group hug from his entire family. After the children had all managed to escape their parents, they stood before the portal in a semi-circle.

"Well, here goes nothing…" Takato muttered as he and Guilmon took a few steps forward, vanishing in a flash of light as they touched the portal.

"_Into the mouth of hell we march!_" Terriermon sang as his Tamer stepped forward next.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Rika chuckled as she and Renamon took the plunge.

"GERONIMO!" Cam shouted as he leapt into the portal.

_Sometimes I feel like a bloody zookeeper…_ Gaomon sighed mentally as he walked forwards and stepped through the portal in a much more sedate manner. _If anything __**he's**__ the one who needs Taming…_


	22. Chapter 22

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Impact**

Tuesday 9th November - 5:23pm Japanese Standard Time (8:23am GMT)

HYPNOS Command Centre, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan

"We have their signals," a red-haired woman wearing a complex headset shouted excitedly and began typing away at her keyboard at incredible speed. "Four humans and four Digimon have just entered the portal, calculate emergence into the Barrier Plane in five…four…three…two…one…we have emergence!"

"Excellent," Mitsuo Yamaki nodded and clicked his silver lighter open and closed. "Tally, are all eight signals normal?"

"That's affirmative," a blonde-haired woman wearing an identical headset replied. "Looks like the instability of the English portal had no effect on their physiology."

"Perfect. Riley, launch a high-resolution tracer program at the group. I want to gather as much data on the Digital World and its effects on the human body as possible."

"Aye, sir," the redhead replied and resumed her furious typing, hitting the 'Enter' key a few seconds later with a small flourish. "Tracer away!"

"That's it then," the blonde-haired man muttered to himself as he clicked his lighter repeatedly. "They're on their own from here on out. Good luck, Tamers…you're going to need it."

* * *

Digital Barrier Plane - 8:23am

"_This_ is the Digital World?" Takato asked incredulously as he looked around at the emptiness surrounding him. The group was floating in a void of pure black that stretched as far as the eye could see, with bright green gridlines hovering in mid-air at regular intervals. The brown-haired boy reached out to touch one of the lines, only for his hand to pass through it with no resistance.

"No, this is what HYPNOS calls the Digital Barrier Plane," Rika explained in an impatient tone. "It's like a wall that's meant to stop things from travelling between the worlds."

"It obviously doesn't work too well if we're getting Bio-emergences," Terriermon pointed out as he started somersaulting in mid-air.

"Actually, it works very well," Gaomon contradicted the rabbit. "The Barrier Plane requires an enormous amount of energy to breach, making it impossible for many Digimon to ever reach the human world. The only places they can break through to are the areas on Earth that are close to a portal, and they can usually only get there by expending a ridiculous amount of time and effort."

"Fascinating…" Henry said in an awed tone as he reached out and grabbed his partner by the ear, stopping the small Digimon's aerial manoeuvres. "So, how do we get to the Digital World?"

"Uh, Yamaki said that we need to go down, but…" Rika replied with a confused frown. "Which way is down?"

It was a valid question. Every single member of the group had emerged from the portal at a different angle, meaning that Henry's down was Renamon's up, Gaomon's backwards, Takato's left and Rika's right.

"I think it's…that way!" Cam said and pointed to his right. "GAH!"

The rest of the group let out similar cries of surprise as they all suddenly began 'falling' in the direction Cam had pointed. They fell for almost a minute, accelerating constantly until a circle of white light over a dozen metres wide appeared below them. The humans and Digimon rocketed towards the circle at breakneck speed, a tingle running through each of them as they passed through the portal and were thrown into another world.

_Oh, crap…_ Takato thought as he shook off his disorientation and realized two horrible truths. One: he was still falling incredibly quickly.

Two: now there was actually a piece of land for him to fall onto. And it was rushing up to meet him a lot faster than he would have liked.

* * *

"Everyone alright?" Henry asked as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Never better," Cam replied and coughed up a mouthful of dust.

"I am uninjured," Gaomon said calmly as he clapped his boxing gloves together.

"I'm okay and Takatomon and Guilmon are too. They landed on their heads so they didn't damage anything important."

"Terriermon…"

"Uh, where's Rika?" the goggle-wearing Tamer asked, looking around desperately for the girl.

"Up here, Gogglehead," a voice called out and the group of battered humans and Digimon looked up to see the redhead cradled in the arms of her partner, three pairs of glowing wings emerging from the kitsune's back.

"You swiped a Hyper Wing card? Quick thinking," Cam chuckled as he climbed wearily out of the massive crater he had been laid in.

"Guys - I have a quick question…" Takato said hesitantly and scratched his head. "How are we not dead?"

"The laws of physics work intermittently in the Digital World," Gaomon explained with a sigh. "As do the laws of nature and common sense. It will not be necessary to eat or drink regularly while in the Digital World - our bodies will be able to survive without food or water for as long as we need them to."

"So, remind me why I'm carrying a bag full of supplies," the brown-haired boy grumbled as he shifted the heavy backpack into a more comfortable position.

"We can still eat if we want to," Renamon replied as she deposited her Tamer gently on the ground. "Digimon are healed by eating, and it may also be useful as currency if we have to buy anything."

"Oh, there's something I've been wondering," Henry piped up as his rabbit-like partner retook his traditional place atop his head. "Are there any cities in the Digital World, or any governments?"

"I have heard rumours of a couple of cities, but my travels tended to keep me away from 'civilized' areas," Gaomon began, glancing at Renamon for her input.

"It is the same with me. I tended to keep to the forest region, where the only settlements were a few villages and a couple of secluded dojos."

"Government is a more complex issue," the blue-furred Digimon continued. "Most regions are neutral and have no rulers, but every so often a warlord will rise up and conquer a small area. Most of the time they only last a few weeks before they get crushed by a rival Digimon."

"What about Zhuqiaomon?" the canine's Tamer asked. "I thought he was the ruler of this whole chunk of the Digital World."

"Technically he is only the guardian of this quadrant of the Digital World, not it's ruler - though I think he needs that fact explaining to him…"

"You said that _most _of these Digi-warlords only last a few weeks…" Terriermon added with a thoughtful frown. "What about the rest of 'em?"

"I have heard of certain nations that have stood the test of time, such as the Dramon Kingdom or the New Olympus Republic, though I know nothing of them apart from their names. I do, however, know something of where we are now…"

Rika took a look around at their surroundings. They had landed in the middle of a desert, which stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. The only features breaking up the monotonous expanse of sand were a number of scattered towers of rock, ranging in height from a few feet high to over forty metres tall.

"This is called the Desert Level, for obvious reasons," Gaomon continued. "It is the closest part of the Digital World to the human world, which also makes it the furthest from the Sovereign realms. Unfortunately, that is most likely where Sam, Steph and Suzie are being held."

"Great…at least we don't have to drink," the redhead muttered and shifted her shoulders in discomfort.

"Whoa, guys…look at the sky!" Takato gasped, his friends having a similar reaction as they followed his command.

Floating in the sky like some kind of cyberpunked moon was the Earth. The planet was surrounded by a transparent blue layer that hovered far above the surface. The layer grew thickest over areas with high population, such as cities, thinning over areas with a lower population and disappearing completely over the ocean. Over two dozen beams of pink light rose from the planet's surface, each one fading away into nothing as it soared away from the ground. On the side of the Earth facing towards them there was one coming from Japan, one from Australia, two from China and many others from countries the Tamers couldn't identify.

"No way…" Cam mumbled and stared at the breathtaking sight in open-mouthed awe.

"That's…whoa…" Henry sighed.

"Well, spank my ass and call me Judy!" Terriermon shouted in an awful American accent.

"That can be arranged…" Gaomon threatened the rabbit with a glare and returned to staring at the planet. "I had forgotten how…beautiful Earth looked from here. I think it's the only part of the Digital World I miss."

"Takatomon…" Guilmon whined and tugged at his Tamer's sleeve. "Where's the Sun gone?"

The little red dinosaur was right - there was no sun in the sky, yet somehow the area was still bathed in daylight.

"The Digital World has no sun," Renamon explained with a look that was so unreadable that only her Tamer recognized it as sadness. "It is simply light in the day and dark at night. The day cycle always begins at 6am and finishes at 6pm."

"So there's no sunrise?" the begoggled Tamer asked with a frown.

"And no sunset…" Rika said in a soft voice. "Anyway, we'd better get moving. We only have two weeks until the Ark arrives at this spot to take us home."

"Uh…get moving to _where_, exactly?" Cam asked with a frown. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of nowhere and we have no idea which way it is from to get from here to anywhere!"

"How about we head for those mountains?" Henry suggested, pointing to a mountain range that looked to be relatively nearby. "It's an easy landmark to spot so we shouldn't get lost."

"It is also likely that they conceal some form of portal to another Region of the Digital World," Renamon added.

"Yes, they always seem to be at the top of a mountain," Gaomon noted with a thoughtful look. "Or at the bottom of a cave…or hidden in some ancient ruins…"

"Sounds to me like the Monster Makers read too many bad fantasy books," Takato chuckled and shifted his backpack on his shoulders again as he set off at a steady pace, the rest of the group following behind him.

* * *

The Tamers swiftly discovered that they simply did not have the stamina needed for the long distance walking. Their Digimon partners, on the other hand, showed little sign of fatigue. The children quickly put two and two together and continued the journey riding on their Digivolved partners' backs.

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level - Day Cycle - 12:39pm

"Takatomon…I need a rest…" Growlmon groaned and slumped to the floor in the shadow of a large rock tower, nearly throwing his Tamer, Henry and Terriermon off of his back. "We've been walking for hours and my feet hurt."

"Oh, stop complaining," Gaogamon muttered in an annoyed tone. "We've all been walking just as far as you have and you don't hear me or Kyubimon whining about it!"

"To be fair, Growlmon has been carrying far more than we have," the kitsune pointed out as her Tamer chuckled darkly on her back.

"Yeah, Terriermon's ego has gotta weigh about a ton on its own," the redhead smirked, drawing a glare from the rabbit.

"This coming from someone who calls herself the Digimon Queen…"

"Terriermon…"

"Look, why don't Henry and Terriermon just swap round who they're riding every so often?" Cam suggested, earning himself an incredulous stare from Rika and Kyubimon.

"Whoa…Cam had _another_ good idea…" the girl muttered and shook her head. "That's, what, two this year?"

"Hey, I'm on a roll!" the black-haired boy laughed. "Why don't we take a quick break then you guys can join me on Gaogamon?"

"Sounds like a plan," Henry replied and climbed off of the dinosaur's back just as he de-Digivolved. "I still think it'd be easier if I just rode Gargomon…"

"With my stubby legs? I move like a freaking turtle!" Terriermon complained from the boy's shoulder.

"Besides, we already went through this, Brainiac - we need at least one Digimon to stay de-Digivolved so they won't be exhausted from carrying their partner all the time and can fight properly if we get attacked," Rika explained as she slid gracefully off of her vulpine partner's back, only to make a rather awkward landing thanks to her bandaged knees.

"You okay, Rika?" Takato asked, noticing his friend's stumble.

"I'm fine. Stupid bandages…"

The other two Digimon de-Digivolved to their Rookie forms and joined their companions in the shade, though Renamon did not sit down like the rest of them. Instead, she climbed a few metres up the rock tower, finding a good vantage point and keeping an eye on the surrounding terrain. The group remained like this for about half an hour, with Gaomon replacing Renamon on watch after fifteen minutes so that she could have a rest herself. As the party was about to leave the shade, Renamon's ears suddenly pricked up and her fur stood on end.

"Renamon? What's wrong?" Rika asked in a concerned tone as she noticed her partner's sudden reaction.

"I sense…something…" the kitsune growled in reply, glancing around at her fellow Digimon and noticing that they were having similar reactions. "Something is coming…"

A sudden noise like a thunderclap made the children jump and they looked up to see a ragged circular tear in the sky that glowed with white light. A series of objects that looked like bright white comets streaked out of the hole and slammed into the ground about a mile away from the group, throwing up an enormous cloud of dust.

"That looks like…" Henry started to say.

"A portal!" Rika finished, drawing Digivolution and Speed cards and slashing them as Cam and Takato did the same. "**Digi-modify! Digivolution activate! Hyper Speed activate!**"

"**Renamon Digivolve to…Kyubimon!**"

"**Guilmon Digivolve to…Growlmon!**"

"**Gaomon Digivolve to…Gaogamon!**"

Rika and Cam leapt onto their respective partner's back as the Digimon set off towards the impact site at incredible speed while Takato, Henry and Terriermon climbed onto Growlmon's back. As soon as they were aboard, the dinosaur broke into a lumbering run and shouted after the two Champions.

"Wait for me!"

* * *

The two faster Digimon reached the impact site in under a minute, arriving before the dust had even settled, meaning that a large, thick cloud was obscuring the area quite thoroughly. Their Tamers climbed off of their backs as the Champions padded cautiously forward, sliding quietly down the walls of the crater and advancing deeper into the cloud.

"Ow, my head…I can't see a thing!" a voice called out loudly from the centre of the cloud, startling the two Tamers and their partners. "Hey, robo-buddy - would ya mind clearing this dust up for me?"

"With pleasure!" a polite voice with a metallic edge replied as an odd whining noise rang out, quickly turning into the unmistakable deafeningly-loud shriek of a jet engine.

Kyubimon and Gaogamon closed their eyes and planted their feet firmly against the ground as a gale-force wind tore towards them, creating a sandstorm that washed over them like a tidal wave. Rika and Cam let out twin yelps of surprise as the wind slammed into the walls of the crater, further weakening the already-loosened ground and causing a minor avalanche that sent them tumbling headfirst into the centre of the crater. After a few seconds the noise died down to be replaced by an annoyed voice that began complaining loudly.

"What the hell, Kazu? I nearly lost my glasses!"

"Well, excuse me for using my head…"

_Did he say Kazu? _Rika thought as she pulled herself to her feet. _Oh, no…please, gods no…_

"RIKA!" a girl's voice cheered and the redhead felt something slam into her from the left and embrace her in a tight hug. "Long time no see!"

"Jeri? Gah!" the pale-skinned Tamer yelped as she overbalanced and fell flat on her backside, taking the brown-haired girl with her.

"Oops, sorry…" Jeri apologized as she stood back up, helping Rika to her feet a second later.

"Jeri…what are you doing here?" the redhead asked with a bewildered face.

"Yamaki told us about what happened - he said your sister and a couple of your friends got kidnapped by Devas, so we all decided we'd come and help you out!" the eternally-cheerful girl replied with a smile. "Well, Ryo decided that he'd run off and go to the Digital World without telling anyone and we all kind of second-guessed him and decided to tag along…"

"Uh, Rika? Who are these people?" Cam asked, a look of recognition passing across his face as he spotted a familiar boy with a mop of dark green hair and square, wire-rimmed glasses. "Hey, I know you - you're Kenta, right?"

"Uh, yeah, have we…wait, you're one of Rika's friends - Cam?" the Tamer replied, continuing when the black-haired boy nodded and smiled. "Hey, you can understand me! Does this mean you became a Tamer too?"

"Yup - this is my partner, Gaogamon. Well, normally he's Gaomon, but…"

"Heh, yeah. The whole Digivolution thing gets pretty confusing. I'm lucky - MarineAngemon always stays at Mega level!"

"So, Wildcat - you finally took me up on my invitation!" a confident voice called and the Tamers turned to see an abnormally-tall Japanese boy with brown hair and tanned skin stood next to a ten-foot tall black-armoured bipedal dragon with four red wings and a dome shaped helmet.

"Ryo Akiyama…the one part of Japan I was happy to be rid of!" Rika growled with a glare at the older boy, then shot a quick glance at Kazu, who was grinning like an idiot. "Well, one of the two parts…"

"Hey!" the visor-wearing Tamer complained, then shrugged and shot a grin at his green-haired sidekick. "Meh, that means she missed you at least a little bit, Kenta…"

"Oh, Kenta's fine. _You _on the other hand, are a dick!"

"We've been in the Digital World less than two minutes and Rika has already started an argument…" a ten-foot tall anthropomorphic lion wearing a pair of tattered blue jeans sighed with a weary grin. "Hello, Kyubimon. It has been too long."

"Likewise, Leomon," the kitsune replied with a nod.

The chance for any further conversation was interrupted by a rapid series of loud 'STOMPs' followed by a chorus of cries of surprise. About a second later, the enormous red form of Growlmon slid snout-first down the rim of the crater, skidding to a halt mere metres away from a growling Cyberdramon.

"Hi!" the massive dinosaur greeted the near-feral dragon cheerfully as his passengers climbed shakily off of his back.

"You really need to watch where you're going, boy…" Takato grumbled and then blinked in surprise when he noticed the four additional humans and Digimon. "Uh, who are these guys?"

"Don't tell me your memory's _that_ bad Gogglehead…" Rika sighed and waved her hand impatiently at Kenta and then Ryo.

"Oh, yeah! Hey, Kenta, Ryo - almost didn't recognize you with the big guy," the begoggled Tamer chuckled and nodded at Cyberdramon, who snarled angrily in reply.

"Oh, don't mind him," the older boy grinned and rolled his eyes. "He just gets a little cranky…"

"Oh, okay. So, I guess that makes you two Kazu and Jeri, right?"

"Shioda Kazu, Digimon Tamer extraordinaire at your service!" the visor-wearing boy announced with an exaggerated bow. "And this is my trusty sidekick, squire and ride home - Guardromon."

"Rika warned us you'd do that…" Terriermon sighed, drawing a glare from the overly-dramatic Tamer.

"Anyway…I'm Katou Jeri and this is Leomon," Jeri giggled and waved a hand at her leonine partner. "You're Takato, right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Rika told me about you," the brown-haired girl replied innocently, provoking identical dirty grins on the faces of Cam, Kazu and Terriermon.

"Did she now…" they said as one and exchanged conspiratorial glances.

"Don't even _think_ about it…" the redhead warned them, cracking her knuckles menacingly. "Unless you want me to kick all your asses. Again."

"So…why don't we get moving?" Kenta suggested nervously.

"Great idea!" Jeri cheered as Leomon bent down and gently lifted her onto his right shoulder. "Hey, Rika - wanna join me up here for a bit so we can catch up?"

"Sure," the girl shrugged, sensing the urgency in her friend's tone and suppressing a laugh as she saw the dejected look that flashed briefly across Kenta's face. _Jealous, are we? Hmmm… _she chuckled mentally as the lion scooped her up onto his left shoulder.

* * *

"So, Yamaki said that one of the people who got kidnapped was your sister…" Jeri said after she and Rika had been riding Leomon for about ten minutes. "I thought you were an only child."

"It's…complicated," the redhead sighed and gazed off into the distance. "Look, I was gonna go on that IM program and tell you about all this stuff, but the last few weeks have been a little…crazy and I never got the chance."

"It's okay, I understand," the cheerful Tamer smiled and nodded for her friend to continue.

* * *

"I'll never get how she does that…" Kazu complained from his perch atop his partner's shoulder as he glanced back at the two girls and Leomon, who was lagging slightly behind the rest of the group to give them some privacy.

"Uh, does what?" Takato asked the boy in confusion as Growlmon pulled alongside Guardromon.

"How she gets Rika to act like a normal person!"

"Because she _is _a normal person," the goggle-wearing Tamer replied with a hint of irritation. "She talks to me, Cam, Henry - hell, even Terriermon! She's not some weird psycho like you seem to think."

"Yeah, right…"

"It's true!" Kenta protested from Guardromon's other shoulder. "She was fine with me when I ended up in England. To be honest, I think it's just you and Ryo that she hates."

"She used to hate Takatomon and the others, too!" Growlmon chipped in excitedly. "But then me and Takatomon saved scary Rika from a big bad Digimon and she stopped being as scary."

"Rika needed saving?" Kenta asked in disbelief. "This is the same Rika we're talking about, right? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much," Takato lied with a sheepish grin. "Rika got taken by surprise by an IceDevimon. Renamon got knocked out and Guilmon Digivolved to Growlmon for the first time. We took him down - it was no big deal."

"Huh…" Kazu mumbled, not quite sure if he believed the boy's story. In a rare burst of common sense, he decided that even if there was more to the story than Takato was letting on, there was probably a reason he was keeping it from them. And since that reason probably involved Rika murdering anybody who ever found out about it, he wisely opted for dropping the subject.

* * *

The Tamers continued travelling for several more hours, stopping a few minutes before 6pm when they found a decent-sized, uninhabited cave that was a perfect place to spend the night. No sooner had their partners (where appropriate) de-Digivolved to their Rookie forms than the world was pitched into darkness as the sky abruptly turned black. The instant nightfall was quite unsettling to all of the children with the notable exception of Ryo, who was used to the quirks of the Digital World thanks to his frequent visits.

"I'll never get used to that…" Jeri mumbled and shivered, yawning as she leaned back against Leomon's soft chest fur. "I feel like I could sleep for a week…"

"Yeah, me too," Ryo agreed as he tried to talk through a yawn. "It's gotta be, what, 3am back in Japan?"

"Yeah," Kenta agreed as he fought to keep his eyes open. "We need to stay awake…until we'd…got to try…adjust to the…"

The green-haired boy trailed off as he gradually nodded off, slumping gently to one side until his head was resting against Leomon's stomach right next to Jeri.

"Two down…" the leonine warrior noted with a tired grin and pointed at the softly-snoring Kazu, who was using his partner's metal chassis like a pillow.

"That can't be comfortable…" Rika chuckled as she wandered into the cave and sat down next to Jeri, Renamon materializing beside her in a sitting position. The pale Tamer pulled off her fingerless gloves and flexed her bandaged hands with a sigh. "That's better…"

"Ouch…what happened to your hands?" the brunette asked as she looked at her friend's injured hands in concern.

"My hands? When Majiramon attacked us me and Renamon got sent flying by one of his attacks. I scraped my hands and knees a bit when I landed."

"So _that's_ why you were walking weird…" Ryo chuckled, finally realizing what the slight bulk around the knees of her jeans was. "You should have said something…here."

The redhead frowned as her nemesis passed her a loaf of bread. "And what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Eat it," Jeri pointed out with a small giggle.

"In the Digital World, humans and Digimon can help themselves to heal faster by eating something," the brown-haired boy explained. "Doing it takes a lot of energy, though. You can't heal anything life-threatening, or the energy you used would kill you."

"How odd. I never knew that humans were capable of that as well," Renamon noted with a small frown.

"Most Digimon don't know - I guess they've not got any reason to know, really. It's not every day that a human wanders into the Digital World," Ryo pointed out with an easy grin. "Even I only found out by accident."

"So…what do I do?"

"Eat it and concentrate as hard as you can on getting better," the boy replied.

"Okay…" Rika sighed and wolfed down the loaf of bread in record time. As she swallowed the last mouthful, she began concentrating hard on her hands and knees.

_Heal…heal…heal…whoa! _she gasped mentally as an intense tingling flowed across her wounds, replacing the dull pain that she had blocked out hours ago. When the feeling subsided, she tore the bandages from her hands and was shocked to see that the skin was completely healthy and unmarked.

"What…how?" she mumbled as she pulled up her jeans, removing the bandages on her knees to reveal that they, too had been healed.

"The magic of the digital age," Ryo chuckled. "The energy drain will kick in soon. You should start to feel pretty tired any second now."

"I'm pretty sure that's just your lack of stamina, 'cause I…I feel…fine…" the redhead replied, trailing off as her eyes drifted closed and she slumped sideways, her head landing in Renamon's lap. The vulpine Digimon's eyes widened in concern before she let out a small chuckle as she realized that her Tamer was merely asleep.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked the boy with a small smirk.

"Maybe…"

"She is going to kill you."

"I know, but she always looks so peaceful when she's asleep," Ryo replied with a wry grin that quickly turned into a yawn, lying back and using his backpack as a pillow. "That's it…screw adjusting to the time zone, I need some sleep."

_She __**does**__ look peaceful…_ Renamon thought as she looked down at her sleeping Tamer, gently stroking her head with one paw. The kitsune suppressed a yawn as she looked around to see that Ryo and Jeri were both on the edge of falling asleep. _I may have to join them…Sovereigns only know how many miles I ran today…

* * *

_

Wednesday 10th November - 8:02am

"So, we're just waiting on Takato, Guilmon, Kazu and Rika," Cam noted as he glanced around at the group of Tamers and Digimon assembled outside the entrance to the cave.

"Rika should be waking up soon," Jeri reassured the tall boy with a smile.

"As for Kazu…" Kenta chuckled and rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"Heh, he a heavy sleeper? Takato's the same. The Mighty Matsuki would sleep through the Apocalypse if it happened before 10am."

"Please, Cam, be realistic," Gaomon sighed with a small grin. "If anything short of his mother were to get Takato out of bed that early, it would be a minor miracle…actually, scratch the 'minor' part…"

"In that case, call me the Messiah!" Ryo joked as he climbed to his feet and strode towards the cave.

"This won't end well…" Kenta predicted with a wince - a prediction that was proven true within seconds as Rika's furious voice erupted from the cave.

"GODS DAMN IT AKIYAMA, YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"

The lean boy leapt out of the cave and started to run as fast as his legs could carry him, the livid redhead hot on his heels and still shouting death threats. Ryo's longer legs soon proved to be too much of an advantage for Rika to overcome and she quickly fell behind, panting in exhaustion.

"Don't you think she's overreacting just a little?" Cam asked.

"I think it was the 'Sleeping Beauty' comment that did it…" Terriermon noted from his Tamer's shoulder and flapped his oversized ears as he received a series of puzzled looks. "These ain't just for show, ya know!"

"Hey, what's all the noise?" Takato asked as he poked his head groggily out of the mouth of the cave.

"Yeah," Kazu added and stumbled out into the sunlight. "I was having this _awesome _dream about…anyway…"

"Whoa…" Terriermon breathed as he saw the goggle-wearing Tamer.

"It's a miracle! Let us start the First Church of Ryoism!" Cam declared and fell to his knees melodramatically, drawing a snort of amusement from his partner.

"I think Kazu already beat you to it…"

* * *

Digital World, Sovereign Level - 9am

"It is confirmed, lord," Caturamon said hesitantly as he bowed his head before Zhuqiaomon's terrifying form. "All eight of the known Tamers have entered the Digital World and are currently traversing the Great Desert."

"I had predicted as much," the enormous phoenix replied. "Keep me informed."

"Lord, should we not attack while we still have the chance? We have very few spies in most of the other regions - there is a very real chance that if they leave the Great Desert, w-"

"And what would _you _suggest? An attack on a united enemy?" the Sovereign snarled, his heat-aura flaring with energy. "Thanks to your _incompetence _as head of my Devas, our forces are severely depleted. We no longer have the advantage of numbers - a weakness that is made even more crippling by the fact that we would likely be facing six Ultimates, a Champion and a Mega, thanks to the two recent Digivolutions. We must wait until Project NOSFERATU has reached completion. Until then, any attack would be suicide."

"Lord, at least let me send a small raiding squad against them. It sickens me to think of such…_abominations _walking the surface of this world unchallenged."

"Very well…but use expendable forces only! No Digimon of value are to be risked on this…_charade_."

"You are most gracious, my Lord Sovereign."


	23. Chapter 23

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Berserker**

Wednesday 10th November - 10:01am

Digital World, Desert Level

"I hate the desert…" Kazu complained as he adjusted his visor.

"We know," Terriermon replied in an annoyed tone. "You already told us about thirty times!"

"Probably more, actually, if you count all of the moaning from the last time we were here," Ryo sighed and rolled his eyes with a grin. "I've never been so glad for the fact that Guardromon's engines are so loud…"

"So why can we still hear him now?" Rika asked, prompting a giggle from Jeri.

"He figured out we couldn't hear him after a few days, so he started talking even louder…" the brunette laughed with a doe-eyed look over at Kenta, who was riding on Guardromon alongside his loud-mouthed best friend.

"Oh, for the love of…look, if I Digivolve Renamon to Kyubimon, I can ride her and you can ask Kenta if he wants to join you on Leomon. That okay with you two?" the redhead asked with an annoyed frown.

"Fine by me," Leomon replied, his Tamer opting for a less restrained response.

"Really? Thanks, Rika!" Jeri cheered and was about to hug the slightly-taller girl, but was stopped by an angry glare.

"It's not _that _big a deal…anyone else would think you were in love with the guy," Rika muttered with a knowing smirk, chuckling at her friend's embarrassed blush. _Wow, she isn't even __**trying**__ to deny it any more… _"Besides, I'm doing it for his sake. Even _I'm _not cruel enough to wish Kazu's company on anybody."

As the redhead glanced over at her partner (who was balanced perfectly behind Cam on Gaogamon's back) and began to reach out with her mind, she noticed the kitsune stiffen suddenly, her fur standing on end. When Growlmon and Cyberdramon started to growl a second later, her suspicions were confirmed.

"I smell Digimon…lots of them!" Growlmon snarled as his Tamer quickly climbed off of his back.

"Uh, how many is lots?" Takato asked nervously and glanced around at the surrounding area.

"This many!" a deep, bestial voice roared and the Tamers and Digimon turned to see five vicious-looking dinosaurs that looked similar to a T-Rex or Allosaurus emerging from behind a particularly large rock spire. The dinosaurs were slightly smaller than Growlmon and had leathery green skin and a pair of red- and black-striped tusks emerging from their backs. Each of them was being ridden by six green-skinned humanoid Digimon with long, ape-like arms and a shock of orange hair. Those Tamers who did not recognize the newcomers quickly pulled out their D-Arcs and scanned them as the enormous lizards began stomping towards them at high speed.

_Name: Goblimon_

_Level: Rookie_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Gobli Bomb_

_Gobli Strike_

_Name: Tuskmon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Horn Buster_

"For the Sovereign!" one of the Goblimon shrieked in a high-pitched voice, brandishing its club at the humans. "Kill the abominations!"

"This is gonna be fun!" Terriermon chuckled as he leapt from his Tamer's head.

"Terriermon…" Henry scolded his partner as he drew a card from the holder on his belt, raising it to his D-Arc as it flashed blue. "**Digi-Modi**-"

"**Desolation Claw!**"

The boy yelped in shock as Terriermon leapt into the air and headbutted him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground just as a trio of shimmering blue energy waves soared dangerously close to where his head had been. The attack slammed into the legs of the lead Tuskmon, causing it to fall flat on its face and send the Goblimon on its back flying through the air. The little green Digimon hit the ground hard, one of them slamming face-first into a rock and being deleted instantly.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Terriermon turned and shrieked at Cyberdramon. "You nearly hit Henry! Are you INSANE?"

The dragon's only reply was a snarled "**Cyber Nail!**" as he leapt into the air and soared towards the fallen dinosaur with outstretched talons. The Tuskmon's skull was sliced into several bloody fragments by the dragon's razor-sharp claws and the mauled body disintegrated into data a second later. Cyberdramon let out a savage roar and leapt at the next Tuskmon, tackling it to the ground and slashing at it wildly with his teeth and claws. The Goblimon riding the dinosaur quickly leapt off of its back and surrounded Cyberdramon, who ignored their spears and clubs even as they bit into his flesh and drew digital blood.

"Damn it Akiyama!" Rika snarled and glared at the older Tamer. "If you don't get him under control right now, he's gonna attack us next!"

"I can't," Ryo moaned and shook his head. "He's gone berserk."

"Use a Rock Armour card!" Henry suggested desperately.

"That'll just make him worse!"

"What do we do?" Kazu asked, his fear obvious in his voice.

"I have a plan," Takato began, his voice surprisingly calm. "Taomon and WarGrowlmon can get Cyberdramon under control, the rest of you take out the real enemy. Got it?"

"Sounds like a plan, Gogglehead," Rika replied and drew a card from the holder on her belt, her fellow Tamers (with the exception of Ryo, Kenta and Jeri) doing the same.

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"**Guilmon Matrix Digivolve to…WarGrowlmon!**"

"**Renamon Matrix Digivolve to…Taomon!**"

"**Terriermon Matrix Digivolve to…Rapidmon!**"

"**Gaomon Matrix Digivolve to…MachGaogamon!**"

"**Guardromon Matrix Digivolve to…Andromon!**"

"Let's kick some ass!" Kazu shouted and punched the air as his robotic partner charged at the remaining Tuskmon, who had turned and were making their way towards Cyberdramon.

"Go get 'em, Leomon!" Jeri cheered and readied a card as Leomon ran after the android, drawing his sword with a flourish.

"**Gatling Attack!**" Andromon called as a pair of panels on his chest opened, two missiles rocketing out from the hidden compartment and arcing towards one of the Tuskmon.

The dinosaur roared in anger as a pair of machine guns attached to the missiles opened fire, a hail of bullets slamming into its leathery hide and throwing two of the Goblimon riders from its back in a spray of digital blood. Suddenly, the colossal lizard span with surprising speed, using its tail to swat the missiles to the ground and detonate them. As soon as the saurian turned its back on her partner, Jeri swiped the card she had drawn earlier.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

Leomon charged forward, lashing out with his broadsword at his opponent's right leg and cutting a deep wound just behind the knee. The Tuskmon roared again and fell to one knee as it tried to kick at its attacker, only for the leonine warrior to leap back and dodge the attack.

"Now, Andromon!" Leomon shouted as the saurian's four surviving riders leapt from its back and began to run towards him.

"**Lightning Blade!**" Andromon cried, a long energy blade emerging from his arm as he leapt at his vulnerable enemy and sliced clean through its chest with one slash of his arm. "Take that, you vile-"

"**Horn Buster!**" a voice roared, interrupting the robot's ranting as a pair of red laser beams slammed into his back and knocked him to the ground. "Dinner time…"

"Not so fast! **Howling Cannon!**" MachGaogamon snarled and fired his sonic cannon as the attacking Tuskmon began to lumber towards the fallen android. The enormous lizard toppled over sideways, throwing its passengers to the ground as it landed with a sickening crack on top of a small boulder. The wolf-man fired up his jet engines with a vicious grin, shouting over their deafening scream as he thundered towards the fallen dinosaur. "**Winning Knuckles!**"

The Tuskmon shrieked as the cybernetic fist tore straight through its head, crushing its skull and reducing its body to data. MachGaogamon let out a grunt of surprise as his fist slammed into the ground, getting momentarily stuck in the sand. The fallen dinosaur's Goblimon riders - who had, unfortunately, all survived their fall - scrambled towards the immobilized wolf with their weapons drawn, making manic gibbering noises in anticipation of the kill.

"Heeeerrre's Bunny! **Miracle Missile!**" a cheerful voice cheered as a barrage of rockets slammed into the ground around the six goblins, kicking up a storm of fire and shrapnel and reducing the unfortunate Digimon to data. "Who da mon? Who da MON?"

* * *

"**Horn Buster!**" the Tuskmon cried in desperation as Cyberdramon leapt at it again, the twin laser beams erupting from its tusks and flying straight over the feral Digimon's head.

"**Cyber Nail!**" the dragon roared as he leapt at the dinosaur and punched his left claw straight through its chest, lashing out with his right claw and decapitating it a second later. The berserk Digimon let out a growl of irritation as six Goblimon that didn't even come up to his waist surrounded him and began lashing out with their crude weapons. He leapt back and, with a single snarl of "**Desolation Claw!**", shredded all six of his opponents.

"Cyberdramon," a calm female voice called out to the dragon and he span, growling when he recognized Taomon. "Calm down, Cyberdramon - it is only me. I am not your enemy."

"**Desolation Claw!**" was his only reply, the wave of energy crashing into a hastily-erected shield as he leapt at his vulpine opponent.

"**Atomic Blaster!**" a new voice roared and a pair of thick, red energy beams slammed into the draconic berserker's left shoulder, sending him flying sideways into a twenty-foot high rock pillar. "Leave scary Rika's scary Renamon…I mean scary Taomon alone!"

"Could you _please_ stop calling us that?" Rika's annoyed voice called out, making WarGrowlmon wince.

"**Cyber Nail!**" Cyberdramon snarled, taking advantage of his prey's distraction to launch a surprise attack.

"Gah!" the robotic dinosaur yelped and brought his arm-blades up to parry the attack, grabbing his draconic opponent's clawed hands with his own metal talons to prevent another attack. "Takatomon…"

"I know, boy - **Digi-Modify! Strength activate!**" Takato replied, slashing a card as he saw that his partner was losing his grappling match.

"That's better! Sc-…I mean…Taomon, now!"

"**Thousand Spells!**" the kitsune called, firing dozens of little red spell papers at the dragon's back. The papers mostly embedded themselves in Cyberdramon's wings, each paper glowing white as a thread of white energy connected it to the adjacent spell papers. Within seconds, a web of energy had formed around the dragon's four wings - a web that suddenly constricted, pulling the wings together and immobilizing them.

"Going up!" WarGrowlmon chuckled, the Vernier engine on his back screaming as it cycled up to full power and launched both him and Cyberdramon into the air. When they were about a hundred metres up, the cyborg released his grip on his opponent and kicked him in the chest, sending the dragon crashing towards the ground. Unable to move his wings, Cyberdramon merely roared with rage as he slammed head-first into the ground and was knocked out cold.

"Heh, that wasn't too bad…" Takato grinned as he glanced around, seeing that their friends had just finished mopping up the last of the Goblimon and Tuskmon. MarineAngemon was busy tending to some small wounds that had been sustained by Andromon and Leomon with his heart-shaped healing bubbles, while Rapidmon and MachGaogamon were having a minor argument as they de-Digivolved to their Rookie forms.

Rika's furious glare as she stomped towards Ryo showed that she obviously didn't share the boy's good mood.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Rika shouted and poked Ryo angrily in the chest. "You told me you had that…_monster _under control!"

"Rika, you know it's not his fault…" Jeri started to say, but was completely ignored by the girl.

Despite the serious situation, Cam had to suppress a laugh as the redhead squared off against the much-taller Tamer. Out of the whole group, only Cam himself was taller than Ryo and Rika had to reach up to about the level of her chin to reach his chest.

"I'm sorry!" the brown-haired boy apologized with an ashamed look. "I thought I did, but…we haven't had a Bio-emergence since we got back to Japan and he was getting a little crazy."

"So why didn't you go on one of your little hunting trips to the Digital World, huh?" the girl demanded, clenching her fists as she glared into his eyes. "You always seemed to enjoy wandering off back when I was in Japan."

"Okay, just what the hell is going on?" Kazu asked with a bewildered frown, glancing quickly from Jeri to Rika to Ryo and back again. "I'm obviously missing out on something here."

"Maybe we should keep our noses out…" Kenta suggested nervously.

"SCREW THAT!" Terriermon exclaimed and glared at the unconscious Cyberdramon. "That wackjob nearly took Henry's head off and then he tried to munch on Taomon and WarGrowlmon! We deserve an answer!"

"He's right," Ryo agreed with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I was gonna tell you about this beforehand…actually, I assumed Rika had already told you about it."

"Screw you, Akiyama - I keep my promises!" the redhead spat.

"Right, sorry…" the boy winced and sighed again. "Cyberdramon isn't like other Digimon. He's a little…unstable. When he fights, he sometimes finds it hard not to…well, go nuts and start killing everything in sight. It gets really bad when he hasn't had a fight in a while - when that happens I usually take him to the Digital World and kind of…let him loose. He gets into a few fights, blows off some steam, then he's okay again. Actually, I was planning on coming to the Digital World this week, but when I heard about Rika's sister…" he finished with a shrug.

"So…why do Rika and Jeri know about this and not us?" Kazu asked with a slightly hurt look.

"We were there when Cyberdramon went berserk one day," Jeri said quickly, glancing nervously at Rika and Ryo.

"Right…" the redhead agreed hesitantly. "We had to help take him down before he got anybody hurt."

"And I didn't tell you guys because…well, if I had a choice then nobody would know about this," Ryo finished with a sheepish grin.

"So…Rika, what did you mean when you said 'I keep my promises'?" Takato asked with a puzzled frown.

"You have a brain, Goggles - work it out!" she moaned and shook her head in exasperation. "He made me promise not to tell anyone about his partner's little rampages."

"Oh, right…guess I should have picked up on that…" the goggle-wearing Tamer chuckled. "So, what do we do now? I mean, we can't really just carry him all the way through the desert, can we?"

"We won't have to," Kenta shook his head and pointed at his pink, fairy-like partner who was currently flying in circles around his head. "MarineAngemon can wake him up no problem."

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Henry asked with a wary look at the dragon who had almost killed him.

"Nope," Ryo replied with a grin. "MarineAngemon's healing bubbles are full of positive energy that will stop him from going berserk again for a while. When he wakes up, he'll be back to normal, I promise."

"What exactly _is _normal for that guy?" Cam asked with a frown.

"Moody, anti-social, violent…" Ryo ticked off on his fingers.

"Basically, he's a better-looking version of Rika!" Kazu joked, earning himself a vicious glare from the redhead.

"Oh, I'm going to make you _bleed _for that one…"

Seven hours (and a quick snack break for Kazu) later, the Tamers reached the foot of the mountain range they had spotted the previous day. Finding another empty cave a few dozen metres up the rocky slope, they decided to stop early and rest for the night to avoid any chance of being caught out on the mountainside at nightfall.

"Man, that took _forever_," Cam complained and slumped against the cave wall. "Two whole days just to reach these mountains…"

"Would you rather have walked?" Gaomon asked with a mock glare as he sat down beside his Tamer.

"That's not what I meant. I mean that if it took us two days just to get to these mountains and we haven't even found the portal to the next level yet, then…"

"He has a point," Rika agreed reluctantly as she sat down next to Takato on the opposite side of the cave. "There's no way we're gonna be able to get all the way to the Sovereign level and back again in just two weeks. We need a faster way to travel."

"I do not know of any way to traverse this world any quicker than doing so on foot," Gaomon sighed and shook his head.

"Nor do I," Renamon added from her vantage point outside.

"Well, you said that Ryo spends a lot of time in the Digital World, right? Why don't we ask him?" Takato suggested, wincing as Rika fixed him with a glare.

"He'd have mentioned it before now if he knew anything, Goggles," the redhead growled and clenched her fists. "Besides, I'd rather chew my own arm off than accept _advice _from that stupid, arrogant, useless piece o-"

"You forgot handsome," Ryo interrupted with his trademark dazzling smile from the mouth of the cave. "And you're right - there's no way for us to get there any faster. The only organized transport system in the Digital World is on the Hub level, and we're not even going anywhere near there."

"The 'Hub' level?" Gaomon asked with a confused frown. "I have never heard of that place. What is it like?"

"It's a mix of mountains, forests and fields - basically, it's a lot like Japan," the boy explained. "The Hub is where most of the main cities in the Digital World are. You've got the New Olympus Republic in the north-east, Digital City in the west, Gear in the south, plus a bunch of smaller towns scattered around."

"Gee, thanks for the geography lesson," Rika muttered sarcastically. "And why exactly are we avoiding this place?"

"Zhuqiaomon's spies are everywhere in the cities. Plus, I know a shortcut that bypasses the Hub and should get us to the Sovereign level a lot faster."

"How long 'til we get there?" Guilmon asked as he momentarily stopped trying to steal food from his Tamer's backpack.

"About another week, probably more like eight days."

"That doesn't leave us enough time to get back to the Ark," Cam pointed out, doing the maths in his head. "We'd only have five or six days to get back to the desert."

"If only those D-Comms worked…"

"Uh, what's a D-Comm?" Takato asked the taller boy.

"Oh, it's this communications device that Yamaki designed for us. They're not very reliable - we only managed to get through to HYPNOS twice using them the last time we were here, and one time half the message got lost in transit."

"Yeah," Kazu agreed as he and Henry walked over from the back of the cave, Terriermon riding atop the blue-haired boy's head. "That blonde chick…I think her name was Sally or something…yeah, I think she said that the D-Comm's transmitter wasn't strong enough to break through the interdimensionable barriers."

"I'm pretty sure her name was Tally," Jeri called as she, Kenta and Leomon entered the cave, the lion having to stoop to enter. "We've checked around, by the way. There are only a few Digimon anywhere near here, and according to Leomon, none of them were dangerous to us."

"Yeah," Kenta nodded in agreement. "By the way, I was just thinking…maybe we _should _check out one of the cities. We might be able to find some parts to upgrade the D-Comms so we could get through to Hypnos and maybe ask them to hold back the Ark until we're ready for it."

"I doubt it," Kazu replied and shook his head. "Yamaki said that there was no way to make a strong enough transmitter that small without breaking the laws of physics."

"Uh, HELLO?" Terriermon shouted in an exasperated tone. "Remember what my main mon G said? We're in the Digital World! Laws of physics don't apply here."

"Oddly enough, the rabbit is right," Gaomon snorted and shot a glare at the loudmouthed Digimon. "But please don't _ever _call me your 'main mon G' again."

"I dunno," Ryo said cautiously. "There's still the problem of Zhuqiaomon's spies. They'll be on the lookout for any humans or any Digimon who are known to have a Tamer."

"And I don't know if we can spare the time - I don't wanna leave Steph and the others in the Devas' hands any longer than we have to," Cam pointed out, Henry, Gaomon and Rika quickly agreeing with him.

"Rescuing them a day or two early isn't going to be much use if we miss the Ark," Leomon sighed with a worried look. "We could be stuck here for another week while HYPNOS prepares a new one, and Zhuqiaomon would easily be able to track us down in that time."

"I have an idea," Takato called out as things quickly started to degenerate into a full-scale argument. "Why don't we split up? One group goes to one of the cities, the other takes Ryo's shortcut and scouts out the Sovereign level. That way, if some of us do get captured by Zhuqiaomon's spies in the city, the other group will be able to rescue them and hopefully find out where the girls are being kept."

"I dunno…it still feels like we'd be wasting time…" Henry frowned. "I mean, the group that went to the Sovereign level would be stuck around for days waiting for the other group."

"Actually, it's not a bad plan," Ryo contradicted him with a grin. "Even if we all went straight to the Sovereign level together, we'd probably have to spend a couple of days searching for Zhuqiaomon's prison. It's a pretty big area with a lot of hidden bases and stuff. If we did it Takato's way, half of us would be able to get stuff done in the city while the other half looked for the prison. When the groups join back up we should be able to launch our rescue mission almost immediately."

"Hmmm, I never thought about it that way…" Henry mumbled and looked thoughtful before he nodded once sharply. "Alright, I say we go for it. Anybody else?"

The rest of the Tamers and Digimon unanimously agreed to the plan, causing Rika to smirk and chuckle at Takato. "Whoa, two good plans in one day…looks like you're finally growing into those goggles."

"Hehe…so, who goes with which group?" Takato asked, shuffling uncomfortably at the compliment.

"I can tell you guys how to find the shortcut, but I'll definitely need to go to the city," Ryo replied with a small grin. "I'm the only one here who's ever been and only I know who we can trust to upgrade the D-Comms."

"I'm going with Ryo!" Kazu shouted quickly and leapt to his idol's side, the taller boy sighing in defeat.

"Me, too," Rika added in a much calmer voice, frowning at the identical look of surprise written across all of her friends' faces (even Renamon's, though only Rika herself noticed it). "If you think I'm letting that psycho out of my sight…" she growled and pointed to the two large shadows stood just outside the cave entrance.

"Hey, what did Guardromon ever do to you?" Kazu asked with a glare at the redhead, who glared right back at the boy until he looked away.

"Not Guardromon, you moron - I meant Cyberdramon!"

"Oh…that makes more sense…"

Eventually, they decided that Kazu, Ryo, Rika, Takato and their partners would go to the Hub Level, while everyone else would take Ryo's shortcut through the Mountain level. The group wouldn't be splitting up, however, until they reached the Forest level in about five days. Until then, they were all stuck with each other.

* * *

Digital World, Sovereign Level – 11:32p.m.

"Get up," a voice snarled, waking Steph from her uncomfortable sleep.

"Wh…what?" she mumbled, trying not to wake Sam or Suzie as she climbed to her feet. "Is it morning already?"

"No," the voice spat and the blonde-haired girl looked up groggily to see the familiar bulldog-like form of Caturamon, a large key dangling from his jaws. "The master has demanded your presence. There's somebody he wants you to…get acquainted with."

Steph frowned at the Deva's tone. He had said those last words as if they offended him.

"Who is it?"

"Wait and find out," Caturamon replied, his voice dripping with boredom and contempt.

"Well…I'm not going!" the girl declared, trying to stop her legs and voice from trembling with fear.

"Then I'll kill the little ones."

Steph froze, shocked as much by her jailor's casual tone as his words. With a quiet whimper, she tiptoed quietly towards the cell door as Caturamon inserted the key and unlocked it in a surprising display of oral dexterity.

"This way, vermin…"

* * *

Caturamon led the girl down a series of featureless corridors, eventually taking her through a pair of thick iron doors and out into the open air. Steph blinked and looked around, her eyes already adjusted to the night's darkness thanks to the gloom of her underground prison.

They were stood in the middle of what looked like a ruined Roman Colosseum, at the edge of a wide, circular area of flat ground surrounded by a ring of tiered seats. All of the seats were empty, giving the amphitheatre a tense, almost-unnatural atmosphere. Stood at the centre of the arena was a Digimon that looked surprisingly at home in his archaic surroundings.

_I guess this is the 'Bull' Deva... _Steph thought idly as she looked over the enormous creature. It was about ten or eleven feet tall and its lower body had the basic shape of a black bull, the only exception being the two thick, black claws that replaced its hooves. An intricate series of golden markings adorned the upper half of each of its legs, while the lower halves were sheathed in gold-etched armour made of a blood-red metal. Protruding from where a normal bull's head would be was a muscular, black-skinned humanoid torso topped with a three-horned bull's head. The humanoid half's chest, shoulders and forearms were clad in the same red armour as the bestial half's legs, with an extra plate covering the humanoid half's groin. Tied around the bull's waist was a violet sash, from which hung a pair of scabbarded, straight-bladed swords with ornate gold handles. As the girl's eyes fell upon the weapons she felt a shock of fear run through her.

_Oh, God…they're gonna kill me!_

"_This _is why you called me out here?" the bull spat with a glare at Caturamon. "Majiramon drags me out of bed in the middle of the night to meet some child?"

"Peace, Vajramon," the dog replied with an irritated growl. "I do not like this any more than you do, but it is the will of the almighty Sovereign."

Vajramon snorted derisively at his fellow Deva's words. "Of course…"

"I'll leave you two to..._bond_…" Caturamon spat and retreated back through the iron doors, slamming them shut behind him.

Steph stood there for over a minute, too paralyzed with fear to move or speak. Eventually Vajramon let out a sigh and began stomping towards her and the girl let out a whimper of fear as he came to a halt less than a metre away.

"Oh, be quiet," he muttered, sounding almost…embarrassed? "I'm not going to kill you."

"You're…you're not?"

"Zhuqiaomon would have my head if I damaged one of his little prizes," the Deva shrugged his massive shoulders. "And besides, I'm not as…_irrational_ as some of my colleagues are…or were…"

Steph blinked in confusion as the bull looked away and a look of poorly-concealed sadness washed over his face. "Wh…what's going on?" she asked tentatively, her voice even quieter than normal. "Why are we here? What do you want with us?"

"You mean Caturamon didn't tell you?" Vajramon frowned and shook his head. "As if Makuramon didn't have enough ammunition…"

"Um…what?"

"Hm? Oh, nevermind."

"Okay…" Steph mumbled, her voice growing in volume along with her confidence. "So, why _am _I here?"

"To help fulfil the Lord Zhuqiaomon's grand plan!" a high-pitched, manic voice called out and the girl turned to see the monkey-like Digimon who had kidnapped her. "You and your two little friends are to become our Tamers!"

* * *

Thursday 11th November – 9:32a.m.

Digital World, Desert Level

"Well…that was easy!" Terriermon chirped as he and the rest of the ragtag group of humans and Digimon stared into the mouth of a swirling green vortex.

"The nose knows," Takato chuckled and patted his saurian partner on the head.

They had started searching for a portal to the next level of the Digital World first thing that morning. Just as Ryo was suggesting that they split up to cover more ground, Guilmon had caught the scent of the portal. The little red dinosaur led them to the base of the mountain they were currently on and into a cave filled with ancient, crumbling pillars. At the far end of the cave was the portal, nestled in a twenty-foot tall stone archway.

"Any idea where it leads?" Rika asked as Henry walked up to the archway and began examining it closely.

"Hmmm…If I'm reading these pictures right, then…" the blue-haired Tamer began and pointed at a series of engravings. "I think it leads to the ocean."

"Sounds right to me," Ryo agreed with a smile. "The Ocean Level is the first stop on one of the routes I have planned out for us. From there, we'll head to the Jungle Level, then th-"

"Enough with the Geography lesson, Akiyama," Rika snorted and rolled her eyes. "Let's just get moving. We're wasting time."

"Hehe," Kazu laughed quietly as he elbowed Kenta in the ribs and whispered in his ear. "I bet she wouldn't have interrupted her precious _Gogglehead _if he was talking…YOW!"

Rika chuckled evilly as the brown-haired boy rubbed the back of his head where she had punched him. "You _really _need to learn to whisper quieter…"

"Anyway…" Leomon sighed and shook his head in mock exasperation, fighting to keep a smirk from his muzzle. "Shall we?"

As the group began walking towards the portal, Cam sped up his pace slightly to catch up with Kazu. "Rule of Rika number one," he whispered with a grin. "_Never _suggest that Rika 'likes' Takato."

"Heh, you think that was bad?" Kenta laughed. "You should have seen what she did when Kazu accused her of going on a date with Ryo…"

"What happened?" Gaomon interjected with a sadistic glint in his eye.

"Let's just say that it would have taken a hundred cleaners a hundred years to get the blood out of my shirt if there'd been anything left of it worth saving…"


	24. Chapter 24

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Just Keep Swimming**

Thursday 11th November – 9:40a.m.

Digital World, Ocean Level

"Uh, Guilmon?" Terriermon began as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "When Ryo said that we were going to the Ocean Level, didn't you think that it would be a good idea to let us know that…oh, I don't know…that YOU CAN'T SWIM?"

"What's an ocean?" Guilmon asked innocently from his perch on Leomon's back.

"That's it! I give up…"

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed and flicked his head to the side, depositing his partner into the water.

The Tamers' journey to the Ocean Level had been…interesting. The portal from the Desert Level had vomited them out about five metres below the surface of the water. Guilmon, having never been in any water deeper than his chest, quite understandably panicked and had to be dragged to the surface by Leomon. Everyone else had managed to swim (or hitch a ride from their Tamer) to the surface without incident and (with the exception of Guardromon, who was hovering above the water's surface) was treading water while they got their bearings.

"Oh, man…" Kazu complained as he looked around. "Ryo, couldn't you have warned us it'd dump us underwater?"

"Actually, I didn't know it was gonna do that…" the taller boy replied with a sheepish grin. "I've never used that portal before."

"Oh, great. So we're on a Magical Mystery Tour of the Digital World, now?" Terriermon complained with a glare at the boy. "Some plan you've got here…"

"Uh, guys? We have a slight problem…" Takato said hesitantly. "We can't keep treading water forever, and if we don't find land soon…"

A collective shudder of fear ran through the group as they considered the inevitable outcome of their current situation. Eventually, it was Rika who broke the silence.

"No way I'm letting myself get killed by Mr Perfect," she muttered and drew a card, swiping it as it flashed blue in her hand. "**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION

"**Renamon Matrix Digivolve to…Taomon!**"

As the blue data sphere shattered to reveal the robed form of Taomon, it sent a miniature tidal wave out in every direction, scattering the Tamers and Digimon in every direction. With a sigh, the kitsune levitated into the air, pointed her arms out in front of her and cried "**Thousand Spells!**" The vulpine Digimon fired dozens of little red spell papers into the sea, each one glowing white as a beam of light connected it to the adjacent papers. Within seconds, a massive fishing net of light had appeared below the surface of the water, and Taomon drew it closed with a wave of her hands, reuniting the group.

"Wow, _great _thinking Rika," Kazu called sarcastically. "Was this your plan? Treat us all like a bunch of mackerel and maybe we'll learn to swim properly?"

"**Talisman Spell!**" Taomon shouted, cutting off her Tamer's reply as the impromptu fishing net dissolved. Several members of the group let out little yelps of surprise as they suddenly felt something solid rising up from the depths to meet them. A second later, the humans and Digimon were stood on a transparent, floating taijitu disc about twenty metres across, Taomon descending gently to join them.

"Nice…" Cam noted with a grin as he tried to find his balance on the perfectly-smooth platform.

"Couldn't you, um, put on a safety rail or something?" Kenta asked as he nervously eyed the edge of the disc. A second later, the boy jumped as a transparent barrier appeared around the disc's rim, arching upwards to turn their flying saucer into a flying half-sphere. "Oh, thanks."

"Taomon, how long can you keep this up?" Rika asked her partner with a worried frown.

"If we are stationary, I can maintain the platform for up to three days. If we are moving, my energy will deplete significantly quicker. A day and a half at most."

"Damn," Takato cursed and gazed out at the featureless blue expanse. "So, what do we do?"

"Let's just pick a direction and go," Cam suggested. "It worked last time."

"Last time we had a reference point," Gaomon noted and shook his head. "We have no idea which way the portal to the Jungle Level will be. We don't even know if it's above the water or below it."

"Why don't we ask someone for directions?" Jeri suggested, earning a deadpan stare from the rest of the group.

"And who do you suggest we ask?" Terriermon asked dryly and rolled his eyes.

"Well, the way I see it, there's gotta be _someone _driving that boat…" the brunette mumbled and pointed off to her right.

"What boa…" Ryo began, trailing off as he caught sight of a dark smudge on the horizon that was slowly moving. "I see it! Damn, your eyes are good…"

"Yup!" the girl replied cheerfully, smiling warmly at the comment.

"We have a direction!" Kazu declared and pointed dramatically at the distant boat. "Taomon…FORWARD!"

The kitsune gave the boy a glare that could have frozen a sun before a Kazu-sized hole appeared underneath his feet, depositing him back in the ocean.

"Oops," she said in a perfectly flat voice as the visor-wearing Tamer coughed up a lungful of water and glared back at her.

* * *

12:34a.m.

As the taijitu disc drew closer to the object, it became clear that it was not a boat, but a zeppelin. The colossal airship's torpedo-shaped gasbag was painted bright yellow, with the words "DIGITAL AIR" painted in bright blue letters, both in English and Japanese.

"Okay, how the hell did we mistake _that_ for a boat?" Terriermon asked and scratched his head with a confused stare.

"It's best not to ask that kind of question in the Digital World…" Ryo chuckled as he peered at the airship. It was much larger than any other airship he'd ever heard of – over half a mile long at his best estimate. Even the gondola was oversized, easily large enough for even Cyberdramon to fit through the doors and stand without stooping.

"It's…huge…" Rika mumbled as she stared at the brightly-painted aircraft.

"Hehe," Terriermon chuckled. "That's what she-"

"If you finish that sentence I'll make your ears into slippers," the redhead threatened as Henry cut off his partner with a knuckle-rap to the head. "Taomon, can you bring us in for a landing?"

"I believe so," the kitsune replied. "I'll bring us up alongside the rear doors."

"Tangos sighted! Firing warning shot!" a voice announced from to the right of the group and a pair of blue energy beams suddenly streaked across their path. The humans and Digimon let out a collective yelp of surprise as taijitu disc stopped suddenly, throwing them all into the front of the shield-dome.

"Bet you're glad I asked for a safety rail now," Kenta chuckled nervously as he climbed to his feet and looked around for the source of the attack. "What the hell was that?"

"Unidentified craft, this is Gold Leader. You are not authorized to approach Sunny Ivan, do a one-eighty ASAP and run on home!" the voice called again in a Texan accent as a golden aircraft about the size of a small car soared past them, turning at a leisurely pace and doing a second, slower flyby.

"Does anyone have any idea what he just said?" Jeri asked with a bewildered look.

"It would seem that Babel is not functioning properly…" Leomon sighed and shook his head. "Who is this guy?"

"Let's see…" Henry mumbled as he pulled out his green-ringed D-Arc and scanned the newcomer.

_Name: Sparrowmon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Data_

_Special Attacks:_

_Crash Boom_

_Random Laser_

_Wing Edge_

"Sparrowmon?" Ryo frowned. "Never heard of him."

"Unidentified tangos this is your last warning!" the aircraft Digimon shouted.

"Let me handle this," Cam said confidently and stepped to the front of the floating dome. "Good mornin' Gold Leader, this is…uh…Blue Mirage!"

"Oh, gods…" Rika muttered as the black-haired boy began talking in an awful Texan accent.

"We got a bit of an 'SOS' situation here. Me and my wingmen here are a little lost. Our map went MIA and we got a little lost on the way to the Jungle Level. There any way you could help a buddy out? Maybe let us land on…'Sunny Ivan'?"

"Aw, shucks!" Sparrowmon replied. "Why didn't y'all say you were in trouble? You take that fancy flying snow-globe o' yours and land yourselves over at Sunny Ivan. I'll call back to let 'em know to roll out the welcome wagon."

"Uh, Roger Gold Leader, and thanks. Over and out," Cam finished and turned back to his friends with a grin as the golden plane rocketed away. "Who da man?"

* * *

Taomon carefully manoeuvred the taijitu disc through the enormous doorway at the rear of the airship's gondola, waiting until it had touched down on the metal floor before allowing it to dissipate. The group looked around the large hangar deck where they had landed, noticing Sparrowmon sat motionless in the far corner. The hangar was made up of two levels – a lower floor with several twelve-foot high sliding metal doors and an upper floor, which consisted primarily of more doors and a wide metal walkway that ran in a "U"-shape around the hangar. A loud groaning rang out from behind the Tamers and Digimon as the metal doors slowly closed, a clang resounding through the hangar as the two edges met.

"POSITIONS!" a harsh voice with a metallic edge called out as the doors on the upper floor clanged open, a dozen draconic Digimon pouring out of them and taking aim at Taomon, leaning their assault rifles on the safety rail at the edge of the walkway.

The image was so surreal that Rika would have laughed had the Digimon not been pointing assault rifles at her partner. They were probably about five or six feet tall, but the ridiculously large doorways made them look comically small. The dragons had skin that was patterned in a Digital camouflage scheme in differing shades of blue and grey. They were wearing what looked like blue-grey, military-issue body armour and carried M-16 assault rifles.

"Point those things somewhere else," the redhead growled and reached slowly for her D-Arc.

"Rika, not a good idea to mouth off to the guys with _guns_…" Takato hissed from behind her as she drew her D-Arc and scanned the Digimon.

_Name: Commandramon_

_Level: Rookie_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_DCD Bomb_

_M16 Assassin_

_Strike Claw_

"Och, put down those bloody guns!" a voice shouted in a broad Scottish accent as the central doors on the lower level opened, revealing a short, brown-and-white owl-like Digimon wearing what appeared to be a pair of silver night vision goggles with red lenses. "If I've told ye once I've told ye a thousand bloody times! This is still MAH BLOODY SHIP! What happened to chain of command and all that bollocks?"

"My apologies, Captain Owlmon," one of the Commandramon growled and signalled for his men to put away their weapons. "I did not think-"

"That's right you didn't! Ach, you're worse than Mr Top Gun-wannabe over there!"

"Hey, pal," Sparrowmon protested indignantly. "I was just trying to keep our baby safe! What would we do if we lost Sunny I-"

"SHE ISNAE CALLED SUNNY IVAN!" Owlmon roared. "Her name is Rosita! ROSITA!"

"Well, she needs a codename…"

"What's the point of a codename if ye tell it to everyone ye see?"

"Um, excuse me?" Jeri called out nervously, flinching when the Commandramon jumped and pointed their weapons at her as one.

"IF YE DINNAE PUT THOSE GUNS DOWN I'M GONNA THROW YE INTO THE OCEAN AND CONTRACT BE DAMNED!"

The draconic soldiers flinched in the face of the Scottish owl's rage and placed their guns on the ground quickly and carefully.

"That's better. Now get outta here!" Owlmon sighed and walked towards the Tamers and Digimon, addressing them directly for the first time. "Sorry about them – bloody Commandramon. I swear, if this contract wasn't worth so bloody much I'd never have let the Sassenach on board."

"Sassy-what?" Cam asked with a frown before being cut off by Ryo.

"Thanks for letting us on board, Mr Owlmon."

"Och, it's nae problem!" the owl replied with a wave of his wing. "So, who are you guys and what are a bunch of humans doing in the Digital World? And all the way out here, of all places!"

"I'm Ryo Akiyama, and these are my friends…"

"Colleagues!" Rika interrupted with a glare at her nemesis.

"My _colleagues, _then. This is Rika Nonaka…" he began, launching into an introduction of each of the Tamers and Digimon as well as a brief explanation of why they were in the Digital World.

"So, we managed to get here from the Desert Level and we were looking for a way to the Jungle Level when we got a bit lost…" the brown-haired boy finished with a sheepish grin. "We saw your ship on the horizon and thought we'd better ask for directions."

"The Jungle Level? Well, ye be in luck, laddy! I'm headin' that way myself on a cargo run for the Dramon Kingdom. I'll be goin' through the portal in less than two days."

"Really? Do you mind if we tag along? We can pay for the ride with food."

"O' course ye can tag along and dinnae worry about pay! I need some company apart from the Killjoy Korps and Golden Boy over there," her replied, pointing not-too-subtly at Sparrowmon.

"I can hear you, you know!" the bird-aircraft hybrid snapped.

"I know. Come on then, I'll give you all a quick tour o' my baby."

* * *

The "quick" tour of the airship ended up taking over four and a half hours. In the end, only Ryo, Jeri, Kenta, Cam and their partners finished the tour, the rest of the group stopping two hours into the tour when they reached the ship's mess. The former two stayed with Owlmon out of politeness, Kenta stayed because Jeri stayed and Cam stayed thanks to a minor obsession with all things airborne. They discovered that Owlmon was the pilot of the airship and joint-owner along with his partners Sparrowmon (the ship's designated defence force) and Ebidramon (the ship's cook). Eventually the group were reunited at the mess hall, where they found an enormous spread of assorted seafood laid out on a table that looked like it had been designed for something the size of Growlmon.

"Bon appétit!" a fearsome-looking reddish-brown shrimp wearing a chef's hat called in a strong French accent from the far end of the mess. "I am Ebidramon and I 'ope you enjoy your _dîner_!"

"We're being served shrimp…by a shrimp…" Cam mumbled and shook his head in disbelief. "This is messed up."

"Shut up and eat, Flyboy," Rika called from her perch atop a ridiculously tall seat.

"Flyboy? Wait…I FINALLY GOT A NICKNAME!" Cam cheered exuberantly as the redhead rolled her eyes.

"Well I couldn't help myself when I saw you drooling over that engine earlier," she chuckled and shook her head. "I half expected you to ask to ride Sparrowmon!"

When her joke was followed by an awkward silence and Cam shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, the girl's eyes widened. "Tell me you didn't…"

"He did…" Gaomon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

* * *

"That…was…divine!" Leomon purred and patted his belly in satisfaction.

"I couldn't eat another bite…" Cam sighed and leaned back on his chair, only to yelp in shock as he nearly fell off.

"Would you _please _be careful?" Gaomon sighed as he grabbed his Tamer. "It's a long way to the floor, you know. And even _your _skull isn't that thick!"

"Hey, yeah – what's up with the whole size thing anyway?" Terriermon complained from his traditional perch. "I mean, half the ship looks like it was designed for a Greymon, and none of you three are _that _tall."

"Och, well ye see…" Owlmon started nervously. "We may have…stolen it from its original owner…"

"May have?" Rika asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Well it's nae my fault! The cheatin' swine should've paid me fair an' square…"

"Oui oui!" the owl's crustacean companion agreed. "The airship was merely taken as…how do you say…'payment for services rendered'."

"So, who built the airship in the first place?" Takato piped up.

"That low-down, good for nothin' cheatin' dodo of a Sovereign Zhuqiaomon!" Owlmon spat viciously.

A tense silence descended on the mess hall as the bird's words echoed from the metal walls. "This is just great," Kazu muttered and shook his head. "We're flying along in an airship stolen from the biggest psychopath this side of the Digital Barrier."

"Um…am I the only one seeing a flaw in the logic here?" Henry asked with a bemused frown. "Why would a giant bird need an airship?"

"It was not for 'im! It was for his little slave armies and the Devas," Ebidramon laughed.

"And besides, it ain't like he misses it," Sparrowmon noted as he flew through the open door. "Soon as you fellas came along he got mighty distracted. All we had to do was give the ship a new paintjob. We even flew right past him one day and he never even noticed it was his airship!"

"Yeah, who'd expect you to paint something _bright yellow _if you wanted it to go unnoticed…" Terriermon remarked and rolled his eyes.

"Exactly!"

"That's it – I need some air," Rika sighed and climbed down from her insanely high chair. "All this insanity is giving me a headache."

"Careful if you're going outside, Rika," Ryo called after her. "It'll be dark soon and you don't wanna fall off this thing…"

"Wow, words of wisdom from Mr Perfect? I'm honoured!" the redhead sneered as she headed for the door, her partner following not far behind.

"Wait up a second, missy – I'll show you to the balcony," Sparrowmon offered and swooped down after her.

"Wait for us, Rika!" Jeri called quickly. "I could use some fresh air too."

As the brunette left the room and the door slid shut after her with a clang, Cam broke out in a conspiratorial grin. "Five quid says they're gonna be talking about us…"

* * *

The birdlike Digimon escorted the two girls and their partners to a balcony attached to the starboard side of the gondola. After ensuring they knew their way back to the mess hall, Sparrowmon left the quartet to their conversation.

"Why did you _really _follow me out here?" Rika asked with a mild glare.

"What, I'm not allowed to go out for a breath of fresh air?" the brunette replied, sighing in defeat as her friend's glare did not disappear. "Oh, alright…I wanted to talk."

"What about?" the taller girl asked suspiciously.

"Uh…well…Ryo, actually…" Jeri said hesitantly, wincing as she was fixed with a withering glare. "Don't look at me like that…you could try going easy on him, you know."

"Why should I? He's an asshole!" the redhead spat contemptuously.

"He didn't have to come out here, you know. He's here to help you – we all are!"

"Oh and he's been _so _much help so far…" Rika snorted and shook her head. "Let's see…two days in and Cyberdramon has already gone berserk."

"You know it's not his fault! And besides, he's got it out of his system now."

"Wow, that's _really _reassuring…"

"Look, can you at least _try _to be, well…if not nicer to Ryo then maybe a little less mean to him?"

"Bu-"

"Please, Rika?" Jeri pleaded, using her best guilt trip tactics. "For me?"

"I…oh, fine…" the redhead conceded eventually, prompting the return of Jeri's usual wide smile. "But I'm not being nice to Cyberdramon!"

"_That _would be asking too much even for me…" Leomon chuckled and shook his head.

"Be nice…" Jeri laughed playfully and turned back to her fellow Tamer and friend. "Right, let's catch up! What's England like?"

"You know what England's like," Rika replied and leaned on the balcony's safety rail. "I already told you."

"Yeah, but we haven't really talked in forever and I thought now would be a good time."

"Fine…" the pale girl sighed in mock exasperation and flashed a quick smirk. "It's…I guess it's a little weird. It's so different from Japan, but at the same…"

"Hmmm…what are the people like?" the brunette asked with an odd glint in her eye.

"Okay, I guess. They don't really seem that bothered about me being a ha-…about me being mixed race. Other than that, there's not much difference."

"Right," Jeri mumbled, a flash of sympathy crossing her features before the mischievous glint reappeared. "Heh, I almost didn't believe Kenta when he told me you'd made so many friends…especially after all those times you told me you hated them."

"Yeah, well…they kinda grew on me…" Rika muttered and shrugged, looking vaguely embarrassed. "I saved their lives so many times, and then there was this fight…anyway, they turned out to be okay. Even Cam."

"I think that's the highest praise I've ever heard you give," Leomon noted with a sly grin.

"Well, it's pretty hard to rip on someone who saved my life more times than I can count. And before you say it, Ryo only saved my life twice and one of those times it was _his_ fault I was in danger!"

"Right…" Jeri replied with a giggle. "So…you and Takato seem to be pretty close…"

"Don't even _think _about it…" the taller girl threatened. "I don't think of Takato…or anyone that way!"

"So, I'll tell Ryo he's still in with a chance then?" the brunette half-joked, getting a badly-disguised laugh from Renamon in response.

"Renamon…"

"My apologies, I appear to have swallowed a bug."

"Right…and Jeri – don't even joke about that," Rika ordered with a shudder. "I think I'm gonna throw up…"

"Oh come on – he's not _that _bad," Jeri protested, earning herself an amused look from her friend.

"I thought you only had eyes for Kenta?" the redhead teased with a smirk. "I'm guessing you _still _haven't asked him out yet."

"Um, no…I'm just waiting for the right moment!"

"You've been saying that since July," Renamon noted with a tiny smirk.

"You've only been getting it since July?" Leomon grumbled and shook his head wearily. "I've been getting it since April."

"Yeah, what happened to the 'Heart of the Lion'? Just ask him out already – even _Kazu _can see you like each other!" Rika chuckled and stood up straight as the sky suddenly darkened. "I guess that means it's night time…let's get back inside. This place looks weird in the dark."

Renamon had to agree with her Tamer. The night was moonless and the only sources of light came from the airship and the glowing Earth in the sky, giving them just enough illumination to see the ocean's surface, a rippling mirror of pure black extending to infinity in every direction. The ocean wasn't the part that disturbed her the most, however – that took the kitsune a few seconds to identify.

_There's no reflection, _she thought with a shudder. _The Earth casts no reflection on the water.

* * *

_

The Tamers and Digimon spent the rest of the evening talking, arguing or playing cards (both of the normal and Digimon variety). Spirits were high, but they finally managed to force themselves into their respective beds at around eleven o'clock. One by one the children dozed off, all of them much ecstatic to be spending a night sleeping in a real bed instead of on a cave floor.

That is, with one notable exception.

* * *

Takato yawned as his eyes drifted groggily open and he yawned widely. The boy sat up and stretched, glancing at his watch and barely registering the time.

_Ugh…it's three in the morning…can't be bothered getting out of bed…too comfy…_

_Damn it. Gotta pee._

The brown-haired Tamer slipped reluctantly out of the soft, metal-framed single bed he had been sleeping in and climbed over the softly-snoring form of his partner. With another yawn, he crept silently out of the room he was sharing with the five other male Tamers and those of their partners who had been able to fit through the human-sized door.

Five minutes later, Takato had finally managed to find his way to the toilet and back and was fumbling his way down the corridor to his bed when he noticed a light on in the next room. _Who could be up at this time? _he wondered groggily as the sound of two hushed voices made its way to his ears. _Is that…Henry? And Terriermon?_

"Hey, what're you two doing up?" Takato asked as he poked his head through the door to see the two partners sat at a small metal table deep in conversation. "It's like three am."

"Oh, did we wake you?" Henry asked guiltily as he span around.

"Nah, I had to use the bathroom – I couldn't even hear you in the bedroom. So, what's going on?"

"It's nothing…" the blue-haired boy started to say before his partner cut him off.

"Nothing my furry white ass! Maybe you can talk some sense into him, Takato," Terriermon grumbled and leapt onto the table. "Henry here is feeling guilty because he's not miserable every waking minute!"

"Uh…what?"

"It's not like that!" Henry protested, ignoring his partner's predictable sarcastic remark. "I just…when we were all just goofing around earlier I…I was having such a good time that I…"

The boy looked down and took a deep breath, and Takato was surprised to see tears in his eyes when he looked back up.

"I forgot about Suzie!" he moaned, the guilt in his voice almost overwhelming. "I was having so much fun that I _forgot _my little sister had been kidnapped!"

"Henry, look," Takato began gently, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "You can't expect yourself to be miserable all the time just 'cause of what's happened. I mean, it's normal to try and take your mind off it for a little while. Besides, if you let it get you down too much you're just letting Zhuqiaomon win."

"I…I know, it's just that…" the half-Chinese Tamer stammered and sniffled, wiping away his tears. "Her and Sam and Steph are stuck in some hole somewhere going through hell and we're…we were just sat around goofing off! I was playing poker while my little sister is being held prisoner by a crazed Sovereign!"

"Somehow I don't think they're gonna hold that against us," Terriermon noted with a wry grin. "Would you rather we were stuck in prison with them? 'Cause then _everyone _would be miserable!"

"I…maybe you're right…" Henry finally conceded ad dried his eyes. "Thanks Takato, and…sorry for getting so…you know…"

"Heh, no problem!" the brown-haired boy reassured him. "What're friends for?"


	25. Chapter 25

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Egos**

Friday 12th November – 8:57a.m.

Digital World, Ocean Level

"Are you _sure _this is safe?" Cam asked hesitantly as he strapped himself into a crash chair on the _Rosita's _command bridge, Gaomon and the rest of the Tamers and Digimon doing the same.

"O' course it's safe!" Owlmon called from his seat at the pilot's station. "I've done it before a thousand times…well, once actually, and then I almost crashed, but still!"

"You have _got _to be kidding me…" Leomon moaned as he tried to keep down his breakfast.

"O' course I'm kidding ye!" the purple owl cackled. "D'ye think I'd be doing this if I didnae know what I was doing? I'm no' crazy!"

"I beg to differ," Gaomon muttered and rolled his eyes. "Only a madman would suggest this as a way to get to the Jungle Level…"

The canine had a point. The _Rosita _had diverted from her course towards a nearby portal that would get the Tamers to the Jungle Level of the Digital World much sooner than planned. The catch, however, was that it resided at the bottom of a very large whirlpool. The only "safe" way to use this passage, Owlmon assured them, was for his airship to nose dive straight into the whirlpool and aim for the portal.

"I think I'm throwing my vote into the 'This is Insane' camp," Terriermon moaned, practically every other member of the group nodding with him.

"When did we agree to this anyway?" Kenta asked with a frown. "I sure don't remember taking a vote!"

"Okay, we're here!" Owlmon announced and looked back at the Tamers with a feral grin. "I'd hold on tae something if I were ye, 'cause it's gonna get bumpy!"

* * *

High above the azure sea of the Ocean Level, the nose of the gargantuan airship _Rosita _began to drift slowly downward, pointing toward the shimmering blue mirror below it. The airship began picking up speed quickly as it went almost completely vertical, thundering towards the colossal whirlpool that was the only visible feature on the endless ocean, marking the surface like an oversized bull's-eye. As the bright yellow aircraft drew closer and closer to the vortex, the pilot (who happened to be the only member of the crew who _didn't _have his eyes shut in terror) could make out a faint green glow emanating from the bottom of the whirlpool. The glow barely had time to register in the owl's digital brain before his ship flew straight down the throat of the maelstrom and tore through the portal…

* * *

As they passed through the portal in a flash of light, up became down and down became up for the Tamers and their Digimon. It was at this point that Owlmon let out an exuberant whoop and Kenta threw up. Violently.

* * *

Digital World, Jungle Level – 9:00a.m.

The sunny yellow form of the _Rosita _tore out of the green waters of the ocean like an oversized, ridiculously-cheerful missile. The zeppelin arced upwards until it was several dozen metres above the sea before floating lazily back down to land on the water a few metres offshore, the lower of the gondola's two levels partially submerged.

"Here we are," Owlmon announced as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, his passengers doing the same. "Welcome to the Jungle…hang on…what's that smell?"

Kenta flushed red and looked at the floor in embarrassment as he fumbled with his seatbelt. "I get airsick…" he mumbled as Kazu hefted his vomit-filled backpack with a disgusted look.

"Oh, great. Why did you have to hurl in _my _bag?" the visor-wearing boy complained.

"It was in your bag or in your face," the green-haired boy muttered in reply.

"Anyway…" Henry sighed as he clamped a hand firmly over his partner's mouth to prevent the deranged rabbit from making a lewd comment. "Thanks for the ride, Owlmon! We really owe you one."

"Och, it's nae problem," the purple-feathered bird replied with a dismissive wave of his wing. "Do me a favour, though – when you run into Zhuqiaomon make sure ye give 'im a few hits from me. Him and his bloody Devas still owe me three hundred clams and a bacon sandwich!"

"We'll…keep that in mind," Ryo assured him, stepping onto a taijitu disc thoughtfully provided by Taomon as he shouted one last farewell. "Thanks again for everything, and good luck with your delivery!"

The other members of the group expressed similar sentiments to the owl and his two eccentric companions as they boarded Taomon's disc. When all of the Digimon and their Tamers were aboard, the disc began to drift slowly toward the shore, carrying them towards a beach taken straight out of a holiday brochure.

* * *

"Well, this is nice," Kenta said cheerfully as he stepped off of the taijitu and onto the golden sands of the beach, a huge grin on his face the whole time.

"Pipipipuh!" MarineAngemon agreed, floating out of his Tamer's pocket to enjoy the gorgeous weather.

The Tamers had landed on a beach that could only be described as perfect. An infinite expanse of perfect blue ocean merged into a field of gleaming golden sand. The beach stretched back for about thirty metres to the foot of some five-metre high rocky cliffs, a single, narrow path providing the only safe passage by foot. The cliffs were topped with a thick, beautiful and seemingly-endless swathe of jungle that began a few metres back from the cliff edge and extended over the horizon. The only sounds that could be heard were the very faint, distant songs of what sounded like tropical birds.

"It's quiet," Rika muttered and glared around suspiciously. "Too quiet."

"Ah, lighten up Rika!" Kazu called from the other side of the beach. "I don't see any Digimon around here – do you?"

"Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they are not there," Taomon noted as she de-Digivolved to Renamon in a flash of light.

"Great, who invited the Killjoy Corps?" the visor-wearing Tamer muttered and sat down heavily on a rock.

"Rika's right. Don't let your guard down," Leomon warned. "Danger lurks everywhere in the Digital World. You should remember that given our previous experiences here."

"If only I'd brought my swimsuit…" Jeri sighed, failing to notice the flush that crossed Kenta's face as she spoke.

"We should have a quick scout around, see what we can find around here," Ryo suggested as he glanced around at the area.

"Good idea," Jeri agreed with a firm nod. "Me and Leomon will have a look around."

"You shouldn't go alone!" Kenta blurted out quickly, earning himself a friendly smile from the brunette.

"You can come with us if you want," she offered and the boy nodded dumbly in response and followed her eagerly towards the cliffs.

"There sure is a lot of…_chemistry _between those two," Henry chuckled and shook his head gently.

"Yeah, why don't they just smooch and get it over with?" Terriermon asked and started making 'kissy' faces, earning himself a chuckle from Cam and a knuckle-rap to the head from his Tamer.

"I've been saying that for months," Rika muttered and sat down with her back against a mid-sized rock, still keeping a wary eye on her surroundings.

"Meh, say what you like, but I don't see it," Kazu declared with a shrug and laid back on his own rock. "I think you're all just imagining things."

"Just imagining things!" Guardromon agreed with a vigorous nod.

_So __**that's **__why Rika always calls him a moron… _Cam thought as the brown-haired boy began dozing off.

* * *

Jeri and Kenta returned ten minutes later riding on Leomon's shoulders, while MarineAngemon was snoring softly inside his Tamer's shirt pocket. They reported that they had found a path that appeared to be the only route through the jungle. After waking up Kazu (despite Terriermon's proposal, seconded by Rika, to ditch him) the Tamers and Digimon set out along the path, heading through the trees at a decent pace. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be any forks or junctions in the road, removing any debates over which direction to take. The only change in scenery they experienced was when they passed through a large clump of burnt and splintered trees, some of them still smouldering from whatever had destroyed them. After this, the group increased its pace, hoping to put as much distance as possible between them and whatever had caused the devastation.

* * *

Digital World, Sovereign Level – 12:45p.m.

"I'm so tired…" Sam whimpered as she collapsed onto the rough straw mat that served as her bed. "Why won't they just let us go?"

"I don't know, Sam," Steph replied for what had to be the millionth time that day as she slumped beside the girl, gently depositing a softly-snoring Suzie on the mat next to her.

_I wish I could sleep like that, _the older girl thought ruefully. Recently her sleep had been interrupted at least three times every night by vivid, violent nightmares of suffocation and drowning. Coupled with the intense physical exercise regimen (also known as "bonding sessions") she was being forced to undergo alongside her would-be partner Vajramon, it had reduced the girl to a state of total exhaustion. Apparently, Makuramon had gotten it into his head that humans and Digimon tended to form a bond when forced to endure intense hardship together, so he had decided to inflict as much physical stress and pain upon his captives as he could. All in the name of World Domination, of course.

The younger girls didn't have it much better – if anything their enforced training had been even harder. Sam had been "partnered" with the demented monkey Makuramon, while Suzie was stuck with Caturamon. The rivalry between the two Devas caused them to push their captive Tamers-in-training to incredible lengths in an attempt to outdo each other by being the first to bond to their human. The girls were simply not capable of the ridiculous demands placed upon them by their captors and Steph knew that if they were not rescued soon, they may not survive much longer.

"You – gold-furred human!" a familiar voice barked and Steph looked up to see Caturamon stood at the barred door of their prison.

"What?" she mumbled in reply, too exhausted to be scared of the Digimon.

"Wake it up," he snarled, nodding at the sleeping form of Suzie.

"You can't be serious!" the blonde-haired girl exclaimed, looming over the half-Chinese girl and shielding her with her own body. "We just got back! Can't you see she's exhausted?"

"I don't care. Now move aside," Caturamon ordered as the cell door swung open of its own accord.

"No."

Caturamon moved like lightning. Before Steph could even blink she was laid flat on her back, Caturamon pinning her down easily with his front paws as he bared his massive fangs.

"By the Sovereign, you have no idea how much I want to kill you," the bulldog growled as he reluctantly climbed off of his oldest captive, padding towards Suzie with a malicious grin. "For you resistance, the length of this one's next bonding session will be doubled."

"That's not fair!" Sam piped up, her mouth snapping closed as the Deva fixed her with a hungry glare. Caturamon continued to glare at her until the brunette began to shake with fear and tears were running down her face.

"Pathetic," he spat as he bent down and scooped his charge up in his jaws, carrying her like a bitch carrying her puppy.

"Wha…" Suzie mumbled as she was jolted awake, beginning to thrash and scream as she realized what was happening to her. "NO! Don't take me away! Steph, pwease don't wet him take me away!"

"I…I'm sorry…" Steph sobbed as the cell door slammed closed behind Caturamon, Suzie's screams quickly receding into the distance. "I'm sorry…"

* * *

Digital World, Jungle Level – 2:09p.m.

"Uh, guys? I think it's time for a break…" Takato called hesitantly as his gargantuan partner fell flat on his face from sheer exhaustion, de-Digivolving even while his Tamer was still sat on his back.

"Ooh…Takatomon sure is heavy…" Guilmon moaned as the boy climbed awkwardly off of him.

"Because you're in such perfect shape yourself?" Terriermon chuckled from atop his own Tamer's head, leaping nimbly aside as the blue-haired boy made to rap him on the head with his knuckles. "Too slow Henry! Geez, I think you need practice…YOW!"

"Sorry, just practicing," Cam laughed as the rabbit rubbed his sore head and glared at him.

"I think Takato's right. We need to rest," Ryo chuckled as he climbed down from Cyberdramon's shoulder, Gaogamon grunting in agreement as he slumped heavily to the ground. "Guilmon's not the only one who's exhausted."

"Engine…failure…" Guardromon gurgled as his engines cut out, depositing him on the ground with a deafening thud and nearly throwing his Tamer into the brush.

"Hey, give me a little warning next time!" Kazu complained as he leapt from the rust-coloured robot's shoulder.

"I will…try my utmost…to do so…"

"Lightweights," Kyubimon chuckled as Rika patted her affectionately on the neck.

"Not everyone can meet your high standards, Kyubimon," Leomon noted with a weary grin.

"Flattery will get you _everywhere _my dear Leomon," the kitsune replied smoothly.

"Great…as if Jeri and Kenta weren't bad enough with _their_ flirting…" Rika muttered with a smirk, drawing an indignant blush from her partner.

"_I am going to make you pay for that…"_

"_Of course you are."_

The Tamers and Digimon quickly settled down into a large circle, some of them breaking out food and eating through sheer force of habit, others simply sitting and talking. Throughout the duration of the rest stop, both Jeri and Kenta made a concerted effort not to look at each other. Every so often, when they thought nobody was looking, one of them would glance in the other's direction. Most of the time these glances coincided and ended up with the two Tamers making a split second of eye contact before they looked away, blushing furiously. Eventually Rika decided that she had had enough.

"_AAAAAHHHHH! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANY MORE! This is extreme, even for them!" _she complained to Kyubimon through their telepathic link. _"I'm gonna ask what's going on."_

"_This is going to end badly…"_

"I'm going for a walk," Rika announced as she stood up and arched her back.

"What, we didn't do enough of that today already?" Terriermon asked suspiciously, earning himself yet another withering glare from the redhead.

"No. Jeri, you coming?" she asked, making it clear by her tone that the shorter girl had no option to refuse.

"Uh, okay…" Jeri agreed, rising stiffly to her feet and following her friend into the jungle.

"Don't go too far," Takato called after them as Kyubimon de-Digivolved to Renamon and disappeared into thin air.

"We're not stupid, Gogglehead."

* * *

Rika led Jeri several dozen metres into the forest, only stopping when they were sure they wouldn't be overheard. Renamon followed them the whole way, teleporting and leaping from treetop to treetop. When they reached a small clearing, Rika turned and glared coolly at her friend.

"Okay, what the hell is going on between you and Kenta?"

"I, uh…I don't know what you mean," Jeri replied, glancing away at the surrounding trees.

"You're a worse liar than Gogglehead. Spill it."

"I…I, uh…oh, screw it! I want to tell somebody so bad!" the brunette squealed with an exuberant smile. "You remember when we first got to the beach and me and Kenta went off scouting alone?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, when we were out there, we were walking under this tree when a coconut fell off of it. It would have landed on my head but Kenta pushed me out of the way."

"So? He's saved both of our lives before. What made this time so special?" the redhead asked with a confused look.

"Well, when he pushed me out of the way, he sort of…landed on top of me…" Jeri mumbled and blushed. "And while he was there, he…HE KISSED ME!"

"The whole point of coming out here was so that we _wouldn't _be overheard…" Rika pointed out, her ears still ringing from her friend's ecstatic cheer.

Any chance for further conversation was lost as a deafening roar and an equally-deafening explosion echoed from the direction of the other Tamers.

"What the hell…?" Rika muttered and drew her D-Arc.

"Something is attacking the others!" Renamon barked as she materialized behind the two girls, picking up one in each hand and teleporting again without waiting for their permission.

* * *

"**Rapid Fire!**"

"**Genocide Attack!**"

Rapidmon let out a yell of pain as Megadramon replied to his two missiles with dozens of his own. The strangely-organic projectiles slammed into the rabbit's armour, covering it in dents and sending him crashing to the ground. As his draconic opponent moved in for the kill, Rapidmon fired his back-mounted boosters, sending him slamming head-first into the larger Digimon.

"You will pay for that, rodent!" the dragon snarled and flew high into the air, taking aim with its arm weapons again.

Megadramon was a terrifying Digimon. Over thirty feet tall, it looked like something pulled from one of the old Japanese _kaiju _movies. It had an orange-skinned humanoid body that turned into a long, serpentine body at the waist. Its forearms had been covered with bulky cybernetic enhancements, each tipped by a trio of metal claws that snapped open to reveal multiple missile launchers. A clump of purple feathers protruded from the rear of the rounded metal helmet that covered the upper half of the dragon-like head and a pair of ragged purple wings protruded from the Digimon's shoulder blades.

"Leave him to me," a new voice snarled. "You take Cyberdramon."

"Fine…" Megadramon replied sullenly and swooped towards Cyberdramon as his newly-arrived ally took aim at Rapidmon.

Gigadramon looked very similar to his ally, with a few major differences. Its body was grey-skinned with a blue underbelly on the serpentine half and its wings were made of metal and more skeletal in shape.

"Hey, you think you're mon enough to take me?" Rapidmon shouted indignantly at the grey-skinned dragon.

"Shut up and die already! **Genocide Gear!**"

"**Talisman Spell!**"

A shield of translucent energy appeared around Rapidmon, the storm of missiles detonating harmlessly against its surface. Gigadramon let out a low growl and fired another salvo as Taomon's shield dropped, only for Rapidmon to dodge the projectiles with ease.

"Hey, you're slower than orange boy over there!" the rabbit chuckled as he rocketed towards the grey-skinned android. "How about I show you how it's done? **Rapid Fire!**"

Gigadramon roared in pain as his attacker fired a pair of missiles at point blank range straight into his chin. The dragon back flipped in mid-air and fell over a dozen metres before it could right itself.

"Now I can see why Megadramon found you so annoying!" Gigadramon snarled and levelled his arm weapons again.

"It's not just Megadramon…" Taomon chuckled as she floated into the air beside her ally.

"Hey!"

* * *

"**Genocide Attack!**"

"**Desolation Claw!**"

Missile barrage met energy wave in a storm of fire and shrapnel, the attacks obliterating each other and leaving the two combatants untouched.

"You fight well, Cyberdramon," Megadramon conceded with a touch of respect.

Cyberdramon's only reply was a feral snarl as he launched himself at the larger dragon.

"**Digi-Modify! Goliath activate!**" Ryo called as he slashed a card through his D-Arc, his partner letting out a roar of triumph as he grew to more than tree times his normal size.

"**Cyber Nail!**" he roared and leapt at his stunned foe with claws outstretched.

Megadramon raised his right arm in an effort to block the attack, his own shrieks matching that of the metal as Cyberdramon's enlarged claws tore through the casing as if it was butter. Cyberdramon let out a snarl as his orange-skinned opponent levelled his remaining missile-arm unleashing a salvo into the black-armoured dragon's chest and sending him plummeting towards the ground.

"**Desolation Claw!**" the feral cyborg roared in desperation, unleashing an energy wave that tore through one of the wings of a surprised Megadramon.

The two dragons crashed through the treetops at the same time, but Cyberdramon was the first to get back to his feet. The bipedal cyborg ran towards his serpentine opponent and let out a roar as he shrunk back to normal size, the effects of his Goliath card wearing off even as his Tamer swiped a new card.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

Cyberdramon thundered towards his prone opponent faster than the eye could track, reaching Megadramon while he was still struggling to right himself. With a roar of "**Cyber Nail!**" the smaller dragon thrust his claws into the orange-skinned Digimon's chest, the tips bursting out between Megadramon's shoulder blades in a spray of digital blood as Cyberdramon's arm sunk in to the elbow.

* * *

"**Genocide Gear!**"

"Pathetic…" Taomon sneered as she somersaulted over Gigadramon's latest missile volley. "I could have handled this worm as Kyubimon."

Gigadramon's only reply was a bestial roar as he lunged at the kitsune.

"**Miracle Missile!**" Rapidmon cried, launching a barrage of rockets that struck the dragon right between the shoulder blades and sent him spiralling towards the ground. "You _could _try actually attacking him, you know!"

"As you wish," the vulpine Digimon shrugged and pointed both of her sleeves at their opponent as he groggily pulled himself upright. "**Thousand Spells!**"

The flurry of spell papers attached themselves to the cyborg's missile launchers, flashing briefly white before going dark once again. Seeing the apparent failure of his foe's attack, Gigadramon let out a rumbling laugh and aimed his missile launcher arms into the sky.

"Looks like you fired a dud…**Genocide Gear!**"

As the three claw-like covers to the dragon's missile launchers snapped open, Taomon's spell papers flared white once again. A net of pure white energy appeared over the end of each missile launcher, catching the missiles as they were launched and preventing them from getting near their target. As more and more missiles were launched the nets began to bulge outwards, struggling to contain the sheer volume of fire. After a few seconds, the net rebounded with a sound like a giant rubber band being _twanged_,sending Gigadramon's attack flying back at him.

The dragon let out a shriek of denial as the missiles slammed into his launcher-arms, reducing them to tiny shards of shrapnel. With a twitch of his wrists, he quickly jettisoned the ruined weapons to reveal a pair of crude but sharp blades where his hands should have been.

"Uh, Taomon?" Rapidmon said hesitantly as a berserk look came across Gigadramon's features. "I think you made him mad…"

The dragon's crazed roar confirmed the rabbit's suspicions and the grey-skinned Digimon leapt into the air, flying towards his vulpine attacker at breakneck speed.

"_Rika…"_

"_I know," _the redhead replied as she quickly drew a modify card. "**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

Taomon leapt aside with blinding speed, still barely managing to avoid Gigadramon's blade-claws. The dragon wheeled about, launching at her again without hesitation.

"I…" Taomon began as she dodged the second charge. "Could use…a hand…here!"

"Roger that!" Rapidmon replied and took aim with his arm missiles. "**Rapid fire!**"

The missiles streaked past Gigadramon's head as the dragon launched yet another attack on Taomon. The rabbit fired a second salvo, missing with that one as well.

"Henry, he's too fast! I can't hit him!" Rapidmon complained as his Tamer drew a pair of modify cards.

"I'm on it…**Digi-Modify! Target Lock activate! Power activate!**"

"ALRIGHT!" the green-armoured cyborg cheered as he soared high into the sky, stretching his arms out to either side as Gigadramon launched another attack.

"Any time now…" Taomon growled as she dodged the attack by a hair's breadth.

"Okay, okay. Geez, hold your horses…" the rabbit muttered as he began to glow red. "**Tri-beam!**"

The triangular beam of crimson energy slammed into Gigadramon's back right between his shoulder blades. The dragon's furious roar quickly turned into a gurgling scream that descended into silence as the beam tore straight through him, bursting through his chest in a spray of digital blood. His lifeless form slammed to the ground, skidding for dozens of metres as it disintegrated into data that was quickly absorbed by Taomon. The kitsune drifted gently to the ground where she fell to her knees in exhaustion and de-Digivolved to Renamon in a flash of white light. Rika ran to her partner's side, putting her arm around the vulpine Digimon's shoulders in concern. Renamon reassured the girl with a brief telepathic message, narrowing her eyes and looking up as she felt a shadow pass over her.

"What took you so long?" Cyberdramon growled contemptuously.

* * *

After the victorious Tamers and Digimon were re-joined by the rest of their group (who, thanks to the either the exhaustion or lack of fighting ability of their Digimon partners, had been hiding in the bushes nearby) they set off along the seemingly-unending path through the jungle once more. They walked for several more hours, continuing more than an hour after sunset until they reached a clearing at the top of a deep ravine overlooking a winding river with brilliant sapphire water. They made camp about a hundred metres from the chasm, putting themselves far enough away that nobody (and everybody's thoughts turned to Kazu at this point) would accidentally fall off during the night.

The children quickly settled down around the fire, toasting marshmallows plucked from a nearby marshmallow bush (a feature apparently unique to the Digital World), exchanging jokes, banter and conversation. It wasn't long, however, before things turned sour.

* * *

7:44p.m

"Man, that was an _awesome _fight!" Kazu sighed as he thought of the events of that afternoon. "I just wish I could have joined in – then it would have been over in half the time!"

"It would have been over in half the time!" Guardromon agreed, prompting an irritated outburst from his Tamer.

"Stop stealing my lines!" the visor-wearing boy exclaimed in irritation.

"Not that there's anything worth stealing…" Gaomon muttered just loud enough for Kazu to hear him.

"Hey!"

"Yeah, you could come up with better ones yourself with one battery disconnected!" Terriermon agreed, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Terriermon…" Henry warned the little rabbit and rapped him sharply on the head with his knuckles.

"Oh, momentai already! I've earned a little fun!"

"No you haven't!" Cam laughed at the rabbit. "You were getting your arse kicked before Taomon came along."

"I had him right where I wanted him!" Terriermon protested with an indignant frown.

"What, were you planning on giving him indigestion?" Rika asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, 'cause you and Taomon did _so _much better…" Kazu snorted, drawing a glare from the redhead. "Two against one and you could still barely beat him."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see _you _do better!" Rika replied, spitting the word 'you' as if it were an insult.

"Kazu, maybe you should just stop now…" Kenta began, but his best friend ignored him, rising to the girl's bait.

"Andromon would have eaten that oversized lizard alive!" the brown-haired boy declared. "Hell, Cyberdramon managed to rip Megadramon to shreds one-on-one so why couldn't you?"

"Rapidmon had already weakened him," Rika replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Besides, Cyberdramon had the type advantage and that stupid Goliath card."

"Admit it Rika – you're just jealous of Ryo's awesome skill," Kazu laughed, the older boy looking decidedly uncomfortable with the 'hero worship' treatment he was being given. "We all know you'll never be as cool as him!"

"I think I'm about to be violently ill…" Gaomon muttered and mimed throwing up, much to the amusement of most of his companions, Jeri in particular struggling to stop herself from falling over with laughter. Kazu and Rika, however, ignored the canine, too embroiled in their rapidly-escalating argument to care.

"Great, advice on my Taming skill from a brainless fanboy…" the redhead sniped. "I don't care what you think anyway. I know that me and Renamon could take you – and anyone else – any day."

"Maybe that was true once, but you've slipped," Kazu sneered. "It's time to face facts – you're just not as good as you think you are."

"I don't have to prove myself to anybody, especially not a pathetic, self-obsessed loser like you."

"_I'm _pathetic?" the boy laughed. "I'm not the one who let the Devas wander off with three of my friends!"

Ryo tensed as the words left Kazu's mouth, keeping a close eye on Rika and watching for any warning signs in her body language. Takato and Cam, meanwhile, leapt to their feet and waded into the argument.

"HEY!" Takato shouted, staring angrily at the visor-wearing boy. "That's not fair! Rika did her best – none of us could stand up to two Devas on our own!"

"You'd better back off _right now_, mate," Cam added. "It's a long way to the bottom of that canyon…"

Rika didn't even seem to register her friends' input. She leapt to her feet, fists clenched and voice dangerously quiet.

"You wanna talk pathetic?" she snarled, her violet eyes colder than ice and harder than diamond. "How about being a shallow little fanboy with all the personality of a trained parrot? Or a moron who's so stupid he can't see the truth staring him in the face? You're just a kiss-ass who's too scared to move out of Ryo's shadow in case everyone sees the real you. You're the worst excuse for a Tamer I've ever seen!"

Kazu's eye's flashed. That had hurt more than he would ever let on. Rage and his own (now highly-amplified) sense of self-doubt made him lash out with the first insult that came to mind.

"At least I'm not a spoilt half breed bitch!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kazu knew he had made a mistake. What he saw in Rika's eyes went beyond pain, beyond anger, beyond anything he could possibly define. She was quite literally mad with rage. The redhead launched at him with a scream of wordless fury, travelling at incredible speed with her right arm drawn back for a punch that would shatter the boy's nose like glass if it landed.

Ryo, however, was faster. He leapt up from his seat, grabbing hold of the girl around the waist with one arm and twisting her right arm into a painless but effective arm lock, stopping her in her tracks less than six feet from her target.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked and struggled against her captor, almost breaking free from the much-taller boy's grasp. "I'LL KILL YOU KAZU!"

"Rika, stop!" Ryo barked, tightening his grip on her. "He's not worth it."

The redhead struggled for several seconds more, slowly calming down until her raging inferno of bloodlust had reduced to the smouldering embers of hatred. Ryo cautiously released her, ready to restrain her if she went berserk again. His caution was proven unnecessary as the girl span on her heel and pushed past him storming away into the nearby undergrowth.

"Rika!" Takato called and started to go after her, but was stopped by a gentle restraining hand on his shoulder. "What are you…?"

"She needs to be alone," Jeri said softly.

"Like hell she does!" the boy replied and shrugged her hand off, following the girl into the jungle.

"Wait for me Takatomon!" Guilmon called, chasing after his Tamer like an over-eager puppy. As the two partners departed, silence descended on the group. It was eventually broken by Kazu – in completely the wrong way.

"Heh, thanks for the help there Ryo," he chuckled and glanced in the direction of their departed friends. "For a minute there I thought I was gonna have to put her down myself! Man, what a psycho bitch…"

Ryo span on his heel and, in the half-second before his fist slammed into Kazu's face, the visor-wearing Tamer saw a rage in his eyes that exceeded even that which he had seen in Rika's.

* * *

"Rika!" Takato called as he ran after the redhead, spotting her sat slumped in a clearing at the bottom of a small hill. "Rika?" he called again, more hesitantly this time as he walked towards her with concern written all over his face.

"What do you want Gogglehead?" she mumbled.

The boy flinched inwardly as he moved in front of the girl and saw the look on her face. She didn't look angry as he had expected – she didn't even look sad. She just looked…broken.

"I, uh…I came to see if you were okay," he stammered, sitting down awkwardly next to her. "And you're obviously not."

"I'm fine," she lied.

"And _I'm _the bad liar?" Takato snorted and shook his head. "Look, about what happened-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Rika interrupted tersely, a hint of anger returning to her voice.

"Okay, then…" the goggle-wearing Tamer replied nervously, glancing around as he searched for another topic of conversation. As he turned his eyes to the sky, a confused frown passed across his face. "Hey, where did all those clouds come from?"

Rika glanced up briefly, returning her gaze to the floor after less than half a second. There _were _a lot of thick, black clouds in the sky and they seemed to have all appeared over the last minute or so.

"Dunno, don't care," she muttered, looking up again as a flash of lightning lit up the night and the drumroll of thunder assaulted their ears.

"That was a little too close for comfort," Takato began, flinching as another bolt descended from the skies and struck a tree less than twenty metres from them. "Look, I really think we should get out of h-"

The boy was interrupted as a second bolt of lightning struck the ruined tree, a third and fourth following close behind. Rika looked up in confusion as the repeated flashes and bangs finally registered in her brain, her eyes widening in shock as a fifth bolt struck the same tree.

This bolt, however, didn't disappear like a normal lightning bolt. Instead, it remained there, forming a thin rope of constantly-dancing electricity connecting the heavens to the earth. As they watched, the electricity took on a definite pinkish hue and the strange phenomenon began to expand. Within seconds it had completely enveloped the tree it had originally struck along with a sizeable chunk of both of its nearest neighbours. When the violet ribbon measured five metres across it stopped growing and flared bright white, a deafening bang resounding through the clearing as the two Tamers were blinded by the light. When their eyes had cleared, they looked back at where the pink lightning bolt had been to see a perfectly straight beam of translucent pink light. Though neither of them had ever seen this phenomenon before, both children recognized them from their friends' (and Calumon's) descriptions.

"DATA STREAM!" they shouted in unison as the beam of light surged towards them and washed over them.

Guilmon, who had just managed to sniff out the two Tamers watched all of this with a growing sense of horror. With a cry of "TAKATOMON!" and no regard for this own safety, the little red dinosaur threw himself headfirst into the data stream.

"I'M COMING TAKATOMOOOOOOON!"


	26. Chapter 26

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

NOTE: To anyone having trouble with the type 2 error message, I have placed a guide to bypassing it that I found via google on my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Frostbite**

Friday 12th November – 7:52p.m.

Digital World, Jungle Level

"Wait for me Takatomon!" Guilmon cried as he ran after his Tamer like an overexcited puppy, leaving the rest of the group to stand there in silence.

_It should be __**me**__ going after Rika, _Renamon thought bitterly. The girl had been blocking her telepathic signals since Ryo had interrupted her attempt to rearrange Kazu's limbs. _She is my partner and I…I wouldn't even know what to say. Maybe it is better that Takato went – he always seems to know how to talk to Rika…_

"Heh, thanks for the help there Ryo," Kazu chuckled, breaking the long silence with his usual lack of tact. "For a minute there I thought I was gonna have to put her down myself! Man, what a psycho bitch…"

Renamon span on her heel, her eyes and paws blazing with azure fire that she fully intended to unleash on Kazu. Ryo, however, beat her to the punch – quite literally, in fact.

Kazu cried out in surprise and pain as his idol's fist slammed into his face directly over his right eye. The shorter Tamer was sent flying to the ground, clutching his face in agony as the rest of the group (including Cyberdramon) let out a collective gasp of shock. None of them had ever seen Ryo raise a hand against anyone, let alone one of his friends. The older boy was stood over Kazu's prone, stunned form with his fists clenched. He seemed torn between hitting the boy again and just leaving him there.

Eventually, Ryo chose the latter, storming off towards his partner and climbing onto the armoured dragon's back. Cyberdramon leapt into the air, spreading his wings and soaring high into the sky without a word. The dragon soon began flying in wide, leisurely circles high above the other Tamers and Digimon.

The group's attention was drawn back to the ground by a whimper of pain from Kazu, a single tear working its way down the boy's cheek.

"Well d-don't just stand there," he sniffled, trying desperately to keep himself under control. "Somebody help me up!"

As the boy's robotic partner began stomping ponderously towards him, a flash of light and peal of thunder washed over the clearing, quickly being followed by another, and another, then several more.

"What's going on?" Jeri asked in a panicked voice as the noise receded.

"What…what is that?" Gaomon gasped and pointed at the source of his shock.

"_That" _appeared to be a dancing stream of white electricity flowing into the ground. As the Tamers and Digimon watched, it turned pink and began to quickly expand until it was many times its original size. A blinding flash of light tore at their eyes and when they looked again, it had been replaced by a beam of pink light that was all too familiar to some members of the group.

"Data stream!" Kenta cried in horror.

"_Renamon!" _Rika's telepathic voice called out to Renamon in a panicked tone.

"RIKA!" the kitsune shouted in terror and leapt into the air, teleporting several metres as the beam of light began to move.

"_Get out of there, Rika! RUN! RU-" _

Renamon let out a shriek of pain as a wave of agony tore through her mind. The vulpine Digimon fell to her knees, clutching her skull as she was struck by a horrifying realization.

_I can't sense her any more…

* * *

_

Arctic Level – 7:56p.m.

_This isn't good… _was all that Rika had time to think before the beam of pink light washed over her and the world was enveloped in a blanket of pure white. At first she thought it was a part of being teleported by the Data Stream – some intermediate dimension that she had to pass through like something on a bad sci-fi show – but after several seconds her eyes began to adjust.

_This __**really **__isn't good… _she groaned mentally and shivered. The girl was stood in the middle of a snow-covered plain, her vision limited to only a few hundred metres thanks to the fierce blizzard currently tearing through the tundra. A rustling sound from behind her brought the redhead's attention back to her immediate surroundings and she turned to see a dazed-looking Takato pull himself out of a snowdrift a few metres away.

"What the…Rika!" the boy gasped and leapt frantically to his feet as he caught sight of his friend. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm f-fine, Gogglehead," Rika replied through her chattering teeth, practically having to shout to be heard. "We got p-pulled into a Data Stream, remember? And n-n-no, I don't know w-where we are."

"Damn…" he cursed and began to walk towards her, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to keep warm. "What are we gonna d-do?"

"I don't know," the redhead sighed.

"Okay, first we need to find sh-shelter and then…wait, have you tried contacting Renamon yet?" Takato asked, hope lighting up his face.

Rika didn't reply, closing her eyes and cursing herself mentally as she reached out to her partner. _Renamon? Renamon! Hello? Can you hear me?_

"I…I can't sense her!" she gasped as she opened her eyes.

"Oh, crap. Look, we need to find shelter and-WAH!" Takato yelped as he tripped over something and landed flat on his face.

"Surprise!" a familiar childlike voice cheered as a red blur leapt at the boy and began licking his face. "I'm so happy you're okay Takatomon!"

"Guilmon? Where did y-you come f-f-from?" the brown-haired Tamer asked with a look of bewilderment.

"That big pink thingy brought me here! Where _is _here, Takatomon?"

"I don't know…"

"Can we p-please stop the chatting and get the he-hell out of here?" Rika growled as she fought to control her shivering. "Digivolve him to Growlmon and let's get m-moving already!"

"Oh, right. **Dig-Modify! Digivolution activate!**" the boy called as he slashed a card through his D-Arc.

"**Guilmon Digivolve to…to…**er, Takatomon? I don't think this is working…"

"What? That's imp-p-possible!" Takato groaned and tried slashing the card again to no avail. "Why can't you Digivolve?"

"I dunno," the little dinosaur replied with a shrug. "I _am_ still pretty tired from all the walking earlier – maybe that's it!"

"W-wonderful," Rika muttered sarcastically. "We need to move anyway or we'll freeze to death. Look – there's some h-hills over there, m-m-maybe we'll be able to find a c-cave or something."

"Right. Let's go!" Takato agreed as the trio set off towards the nearby hills, their progress slowed dramatically by the deep snow and poor visibility.

_This is gonna take forever… _the boy sighed mentally as he fell flat on his face.

* * *

Jungle Level – 8:04p.m.

"Any sign of them?" Jeri asked, desperation clear in her voice as Cam, Henry and Terriermon climbed off of Gaogamon's back.

"Nothing," Henry replied with a sad shake of his head.

"Same here," Ryo reported through gritted teeth as he climbed off of Cyberdramon's shoulder.

"Where could they be?" Jeri cried and clenched her fists.

"Look, somebody has to say it," Terriermon snapped. "It looks like they were sucked into the Data Stream."

"You're right," Leomon agreed sadly.

"If they were sucked into the Data Stream they could be anywhere by now…" Kenta mumbled in a flat tone.

"Pi…" MarineAngemon added from the boy's shirt pocket.

"We have to go looking for them!" Renamon announced suddenly, her first words since the sudden severing of her link with Rika.

"Renamon, that would be highly illogical," Guardromon began hesitantly. "They could be anywhere by now. We are just as likely to find them if we continue on our planned route – they may even expect us to do so and try to meet us at one of our destinations."

"Yeah, and besides, Rika can take care of herself," Kazu added, letting out a yelp of surprise as Renamon teleported in front of him and hoisted him into the air by his throat.

"You'd better hope she can," the kitsune hissed, her eyes blazing with azure fire as she tightened her grip. "Because if anything happens to Rika I swear on my _life _that I will kill you. Very, _VERY _slowly."

"Renamon…" Leomon growled and placed one massive paw on the smaller Digimon's shoulder. "Put him down. This isn't helping."

"I respectfully disagree," Gaogamon snarled, his Tamer nodding in agreement beside him.

"Same goes for me," the black-haired boy spat. "You'd better hope her and Takato come back safe, Kazu."

"ENOUGH!" Kenta roared suddenly, startling everyone (including his partner) into silence. "This isn't getting us anywhere. Guardromon's got a point. There's no way we'll be able to find them just by wandering around and hoping we run into them, and Rika knows that. She'll probably head for the Sovereign Level and try to meet us on the way."

"I…ah, shit…" Ryo cursed and slumped onto a nearby log. "He's right. The Digital World is _massive_. As much as I hate to say it, there's no point looking for them."

"We can't just give up!" Jeri protested.

"We're not giving up," Henry sighed. "We just have to accept that we're not gonna find them by wandering around like headless chickens."

"I don't like this," Cam muttered with a sigh of defeat. "But I guess we don't have a choice."

An uneasy silence descended on the group before it was broken, once again by Kazu.

"Uh, Renamon? Could you put me down now? Please?"

* * *

Arctic Level – 8:10p.m.

"F-f-f-finally…" Rika sighed as she, Takato and Guilmon stumbled into the cave at last. It had taken what seemed like forever to reach the hills in the knee-deep snow and biting wind and both she and Takato were shivering uncontrollably and had taken on a definite bluish tinge. Guilmon, however, seemed irritatingly unaffected by the cold.

"If I never see another snowflake…" Takato muttered and rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them. "So cold…need fire…"

"**Pyro Sphere!**" Guilmon yelled and launched a crimson fireball at the floor, vaporising a huge chunk of ice and sending a wave of warm steam floating into the air. "Is that better?"

"A l-little," the boy replied and shook his head. "Next time w-warn us if you're gonna do that? I thought there was a d-d-Digimon or something."

"Hey, Goggles!" Rika's voice called and Takato realized that she had gone further into the cave on her own. "You should see this…"

"Coming!" he shouted in reply, jogging towards the back of the cave. "What is i…oh."

The goggle-wearing Tamer winced as he rounded a bend and caught sight of a small, round chamber about ten metres across that was obviously home to at least one Digimon. A small wooden table and a few chairs sat at the middle of the room and a few white fur blankets were dotted around the edges.

"Looks like this cave is taken…" Rika remarked with a scowl.

"Hey, you never know – the owners could be friendly!" Takato suggested, jumping as Guilmon started growling and a chorus of cackles echoed from behind him.

"Or perhaps not…" Rika sighed as she turned and caught sight of the newcomers, taking out her D-Arc as she did so. They were about five feet tall and bore a distinctive resemblance to a goblin, with the exception that their skin was pale blue. The creatures were wearing thick, fur-trimmed vests and fur hats and each one carried a weapon. Two of them carried crude-looking clubs, while the third carried a bent, rusty short sword that looked like it would shatter if it hit anything.

_Name: SnowGoblimon_

_Level: Rookie_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_Bolt Strike_

_Freezing Gobu Breath_

_Snow Gobu Mace_

"Uh, hey!" Takato called nervously. "We were wondering if y-you knew the way to the Jungle l-Level. We got sucked into a Data Stream and wound up here and w-we just want to get b-b-back to our fr-"

"Kill them!" the SnowGoblimon with the sword shrieked. "Lord Zhuqiaomon will pay well for their heads!"

His two club-wielding henchmen quickly obeyed him, charging at Guilmon with twin battle cries. The little dinosaur swiftly fired off a "**Pyro Sphere!**" but his target dodged nimbly to the right, quickly closing in on the saurian and tackling him to the ground.

"Guilmon!" Takato cried and reached for his card holder as his partner began wrestling with the two goblins. "Don't worry boy, you can take them! **Digi-**"

"LOOK OUT!"

The boy turned just in time to see the third goblin's sword arcing towards his face and let out a grunt of pain as something knocked him to the ground just in time. He quickly scrambled back to his feet and was surprised to see Rika stood beside him.

"Damn it, Goggles! How many times do I have to tell you not to let your guard down?" the redhead growled and leapt aside as the blue goblin charged at her this time.

_Great, now he's distracted I can…where's my D-Arc?_ Takato panicked as he rifled desperately through his pockets. After a few seconds he spotted the device lying on the other side of the cave. _I must have dropped it when Rika knocked me over! _he realized and started towards the D-Arc, only for the SnowGoblimon currently chasing Rika to get there first. The strange Digimon snatched up the device and thrust it into its pocket, turning to face Takato with a wicked grin.

"Oh, no you don't!" the goblin cackled and started advancing menacingly towards him, only to yelp in surprise as a snowball caught him in his right eye.

"Nice shot, Rika!" Takato cheered as the girl threw another snowball, hitting the goblin in his other eye.

_Now she's bought me some time… _the boy thought triumphantly and began looking around the cave for a weapon. He spotted a large stick lying against the wall nearby and quickly grabbed it, turning just in time to see SnowGoblimon begin chasing after Rika, brandishing his sword and screaming threats.

"I'll eat you alive you little brat!" the goblin shrieked as he ran, slowly closing the gap between him and the girl.

"Oh, no you don't!" Takato yelled and broke into a run, intercepting the Digimon and taking a swing at his head with the stick.

The blow connected with a sickening crack and SnowGoblimon staggered, dropping his sword as he stumbled against the wall. Takato swung the stick at him again but this time the goblin caught the blow on his arm and the stick snapped in two. The boy gulped in fear as the furious SnowGoblimon fixed him with a glare, pouncing at him with a berserk scream a second later. He let out a grunt of pain as the goblin's fist slammed into his solar plexus, crying out as a set of claws raked along his right cheek. Takato fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing as SnowGoblimon reached into his vest, drawing a small, rusted dagger and raising it above his head.

"Night-night, _human_!"

As the dagger began to descend, a wet squelch rang through the cave and the goblin's face suddenly went slack. The Digimon fell to his knees and his data fizzed for a second before dissipating completely to reveal Rika stood behind him with a blood-coated, broken short sword.

"You okay?" she asked, a hint of concern creeping into her voice as she quickly pulled Takato to his feet.

"It's just…a scratch," he wheezed in reply as he fought to regain his breath. "My…D-Arc?"

"Here," the girl said as she picked up the device and handed it to him.

"Thanks. **Digi-Modify! Seed of Health activate! Strength activate!**"

With the help from the two modify cards, Guilmon quickly turned the tables on the two remaining SnowGoblimon, snapping one of their necks with a flick of his claws and incinerating the other with a roar of "**Pyro Sphere!**" As the saurian absorbed the data from his fallen foes he turned to his Tamer, concern written across his features.

"Takatomon? You're bleeding!"

"Heh, it's just a scratch – really!" the brown-haired boy repeated as his partner ran towards him. He petted the little dinosaur affectionately on the nose before turning to his fellow Tamer. "Rika, I…you saved my life back there."

"Oh, come on – it's not like I haven't done it before!" the girl muttered and shook her head.

"You have to admit, this time was a little different."

"Whatever," she shrugged and frowned. "I think I should take a look at your cheek. We should make sure it's not gonna need stitches or something."

* * *

After a cursory examination of Takato's injuries, Rika decided that they did not need any treatment – which was fortunate, considering all of their medical supplies were back with the others in the Jungle Level. Other essentials they were lacking included food, drinking water, warm clothes and sleeping bags, although the fur blankets left by the SnowGoblimon rendered the last two items on that list at least partially unnecessary.

The two Tamers and Guilmon were exhausted after their exertions and so settled down to try and sleep. Unfortunately, the combination of the sub-zero temperatures and the children's shivering made it impossible for them to sleep, and the lack of any fuel for a fire made it all but impossible for them to warm up. Eventually, Guilmon was forced to repeatedly use his Pyro Sphere attack on the icy walls and floor to generate some heat and prevent them from drifting into hypothermic comas. The little red Digimon quickly tired, however, and Takato decided that something had to be done. He had come up with an idea of how to keep warm a while ago, but had been too terrified to even think of suggesting it. Looming death, however, had a tendency to put things into perspective.

* * *

"Rika?" Takato's voice called out and the girl opened her eyes a fraction, cursing him silently. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes, Gogglehead. What do you want?" she replied tersely, shifting under her fur blanket to try and get warm.

"Well, um…I've been thinking," he began hesitantly in a tone that Rika recognized all too well.

_I am not going to like this…_

"You see, Guilmon can't keep this up forever," the boy continued. "And, well, when he runs out of energy we're pretty screwed. So, I was thinking…um, we could be warmer if we…shared blankets?"

Rika remained silent, biting back her instinctive retort. _"So, Gogglehead wants to try and cuddle up under the covers? I knew you were in love with me!"_

_Damn it… _she thought with a small sigh of resignation. _He's right. Anything's better than freezing to death._

"Fine…" Rika muttered and climbed groggily to her feet, picking up her fur blankets and carrying them over to the boy.

Takato didn't even bother trying to hide his look of surprise as he helped Rika to rearrange the blankets, shuffling sideways and making room for her when they were both satisfied. She slipped reluctantly under the covers, lying down stiffly next to the boy while trying to keep herself as far away from him as possible.

_He was right, _she thought after a few minutes. _This __**is **__a lot__warmer._

After a few more minutes, the redhead slowly began to relax, allowing her muscles to un-tense and shifting slightly further to her right, further under the covers and towards Takato. As the two children drifted closer to sleep, they drifted closer and closer together until they were pressed close against each other, all embarrassment forgotten in their quest for mutual warmth.

* * *

11:47p.m.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the icy cave as a shadowy, hooded figure paced calmly towards the three sleeping figures huddled under the fur blanket. The two humans were practically hugging each other in their sleep, while the Digimon, Guilmon, was curled up in a ball at their feet. The figure approached the trio, reaching down and gently placing the back of one dark-skinned hand against Takato's forehead, finding it dangerously cold. It then did the same to Rika, then stood up straight again.

_They will not last much longer._

In a soft, baritone voice, the newcomer began to chant softly, a warm, golden light emanating from his outstretched hands and washing over the sleeping children and Guilmon. A warm breeze carrying the faintest hint of a cinnamon smell washed over the room as the light flared brighter and the figure's chanting reached a crescendo.

When the light faded, Guilmon, the children and the figure were nowhere to be seen.


	27. Chapter 27

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sage**

Saturday 13th November – 8:59a.m.

Digital World, Forest Level

Takato groaned as a ray of light shone down on his face, shielding his eyes with one arm and shifting in his bed in an attempt to get into a more shaded position. After a few seconds, something clicked in the boy's mind and he opened his eyes suddenly.

_What happened? _he thought groggily as he glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He was laid on a bed covered with pristine white sheets in a room that looked it had been carved out of the centre of a tree. A small bedside table and a window were to his right and there was a door a few metres from the foot of the bed. _We were in the cave, it was cold, Guilmon climbed under the blanket and then…what happened?_

The brown-haired Tamer blinked rapidly and tried to sit up, frowning in confusion as he realized that there was something holding him down. He shifted to the side and rolled over a little to get a look at what was restraining him, his eyes widening in shock as he saw what – or, rather, who – it was.

Rika was laid fast asleep next to Takato, hugging him like he was some kind of oversized teddy bear.

_Ohgodohgodohgod… _the boy jabbered mentally, completely out of his social comfort zone. _What do I do? If I wake her up, she'll freak out and break my legs. If I leave her like that and she wakes up on her own, she'll break my arms __**and **__my legs! And how the hell did we get here anyway?_

Eventually, Takato decided on a course of action. "Rika?" he called out hesitantly, shaking her gently in an attempt to wake her.

The redhead merely mumbled incoherently and hugged him even tighter, making the boy wince in pain. _She looks so peaceful, _he thought idly, suppressing a pang of guilt as he tried once more to wake her.

"Rika!" he called out in a much sharper voice. "Wake up! We're in trouble!"

* * *

"Leave me alone…" Rika grumbled and buried her face in the warm, soft object next to her. When the object began to move, however, she half-opened her eyes and was horrified to find herself staring at a distinctive blue hoody.

"WAH!" she yelped and threw herself out of the bed, her face flushing crimson. "What the hell?"

"Uh, hey Rika!" Takato greeted her with a nervous grin. "Nice morning, huh?"

"Gogglehead…" she growled in reply, her look of embarrassment quickly transforming into a furious glare. "You've got five seconds to explain _exactly _why we were in bed together!"

The redhead's face flushed crimson again as she spotted the double entendre in what she had said and Takato quickly pulled himself to his feet, throwing the silky-soft covers off of himself.

"I have no idea!" he protested and raised his hands defensively. "I just woke up and we were…um…like that."

"How did we get here?" Rika snarled, taking a menacing step towards her fellow Tamer.

"I don't know! The last thing I remember was being in the cave with the blankets, and then we were he-"

"TAKATOMON!" an exuberant voice cheered as a red blur burst through the door, flying into the boy and knocking him to the ground. "I'm so glad you're awake Takatomon! You and Rika looked so sick when we put you in that bed – you were all blue and cold and shivering – but now you're okay!"

"YOU put us in that bed? TOGETHER?" Rika shrieked as she pounced on the red dinosaur, throttling him two-handed. "What were you THINKING?"

"It wasn't…just me…" the saurian croaked.

"Then who-"

"Get…off!" Takato wheezed from beneath his partner and Rika released the childlike Digimon as she realized that the boy was being crushed by the combined weight of Guilmon and herself.

"Oops, uh, sorry Goggles. Didn't see you there…" she mumbled with a small blush as the Tamer climbed to his feet, clutching his ribs.

"No…harm done…" he gasped and slumped back onto the bed.

"So, Dino Boy…" Rika began, cracking her knuckles loudly. "Who _did _help you put me and Takato in that bed?"

"I did," a man's voice replied from the doorway with a hint of amusement.

The two humans turned to the newcomer with a look of suspicion, Rika reflexively reaching for her D-Arc before realizing that it would be useless without Renamon. The stranger was easily eight feet tall and was shrouded in cream and black hooded robes. His face was obscured by the shadows cast by the hood, but a set of perfect white teeth could be seen smiling out at them, along with a pair of glowing green eyes. The newcomer raised his right hand in greeting, the long sleeves of his robe slipping down his arm to reveal a human-like hand with leathery brown skin and five digits.

"And you are?" Rika asked him tersely, fixing him with a hostile glare.

"Ah, where are my manners?" the stranger chuckled in a deep, baritone voice with the slightest hint of a German accent. "Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Sage."

"Sagemon is the one who got us out of that nasty ice cave!" Guilmon piped up with his usual good cheer.

"My name is Sage, not Sagemon," Sage laughed and shook his head.

"So, you're not a Digimon?" Takato asked the man with a puzzled frown.

"What? What on earth gave you that impression? Of course I'm a Digimon!" the hooded man replied with another laugh.

"But if you're not a mon…" the boy began, his confusion deepening.

"I am unlike any Digimon you have ever encountered – or ever will encounter, for that matter," Sage declared with a grin. "Just try scanning me with that D-Arc of yours."

Rika obliged, a bewildered scowl crossing her face as she read off the stats displayed.

_Name: Sage_

_Level: Sage_

_Attribute: Sage_

_Special Attacks:_

_Sage_

"Sage, Sage-level, Sage-type," she read off. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"No, Rika, it is not. I am a unique creature. So unique that I appear to have confused your little gadget there."

"So, what do you want with us?" Takato asked hesitantly, his hands moving slowly toward his D-Arc and card holder. "Why did you take us out of that cave?"

"Because if I had not done so you would have frozen to death," Sage replied evenly.

"So why save us? What's in it for you?" Rika asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You really are a cynical little girl, aren't you?" the hooded Digimon remarked, sparking the redhead's legendary temper.

"Don't. Call me. A little girl!" she spat, clenching her fists.

"My apologies," Sage chuckled, sounding anything but apologetic. "And to answer your question, I saved you because I need you. The whole Digital World needs you."

"What do you-" Takato began, but was quickly interrupted.

"I know of your quest to rescue Zhuqiaomon's latest captives. I also know their identities and relation to you. The sovereign is a blood-crazed madman, unworthy of holding such a noble title. He has committed atrocities in this world as well as yours."

"So you want him gone? What is this, revenge?" Rika asked with a small frown.

"No," Sage replied with a shake of his head. "Zhuqiaomon has not harmed me or anyone I know personally, but it is my wish to see the balance of the Digital World maintained. His evil upsets this balance."

"So…that's it?" the redhead snorted, obviously not believing his story.

"Oh, the youth of today…" the Digimon muttered and shook his head. "Tell me, why do you fight against evil Digimon that enter your world? To protect your homes, your friends, your families. I fight for the Digital World in my own way, but I fight to protect not the individuals or places of my world but the world itself. The Digital World is to me what Sam is to you."

Rika was suitably chastised by Sage's speech and fell silent, glaring moodily out of the window.

"So, Mr Sage," Takato began, breaking the uneasy silence. "We'd really like to be getting back to our friends as soon as possible…"

"I wouldn't bother trying to meet up with them yet," the hooded Digimon replied and waved his hand towards the window. "We are in the Forest Level. Between us and your friends lies the Swamp Level. You'd be insane to try and cross it with just you two and Guilmon. Besides, they'll be passing by us in a day or two anyway. You may as well wait until then."

"But what if they need our help?" Guilmon whined.

"I am monitoring the entire route through the swamp. If they require any assistance I will let you know."

"So, what are we meant to do for the next two days?" Rika asked in a frustrated tone.

"I have no idea," Sage replied simply with an enormous grin. "You can do whatever you like, but I recommend that you do not leave the grounds of my property. The forest can be quite…inhospitable at times."

"I have one last question," the girl began in a menacing tone. "Whose bright idea was it to put me and Takato in the same bed?"

The twin glowing green orbs in Sage's hood blinked twice rapidly in surprise.

"You mean you don't normally do that?" he asked, receiving a swift head-shake from Takato. "But I saw lots of people do it on TV! Everyone seemed to be sharing a bed with everyone!"

"Wait, you have a TV?" the goggle-wearing Tamer piped up, his curiosity peaked.

"Yes, but I only get these strange shows called 'Soap Operas'. And I only seem to get the ones made in America…"

"That explains it…"

* * *

Fortunately for the trio, Sage's property was enormous. They quickly discovered the reason that their bedroom had looked like it was carved out of the centre of a tree – because it was. A colossal tree thirty metres wide and three hundred tall sat at the southern end of a bowl-shaped valley that measured over a mile across. This tree had been hollowed out and converted into a home by Sage and entrance could only be gained through a doorway concealed beneath one of its massive roots. The valley was surrounded on all sides by mile-high walls of sheer rock with only one narrow tunnel on the northern side leading to the outside world. Most of the valley was covered with forest or grassy fields, with a narrow path made entirely of marble cutting through the woodland from the tree to the exit tunnel. At the western end of the valley, water cascaded down from the cliff tops in a mile-high waterfall that created a constant rainbow. A winding stream led from the falls through the centre of the valley and fed into a beautiful azure lake at the east side.

In short, the view from atop Sage's tree was the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen.

* * *

Swamp Level – 10:22a.m.

"Well…" Cam began as he waded through a pool of knee-deep mud. "This is nice…"

"Don't you _dare _complain," Gaomon shrieked at his Tamer as he struggled to keep his head above the surface. "You don't have fur! Do you have _any _idea how difficult it is to get mud out of fur? DO YOU?"

"It's times like this I'm glad I've got Henry," Terriermon chuckled from his usual perch.

"Terriermon, I'd throw you into that mud if it wasn't for the fact I'd probably lose you in there," the blue haired boy teased the rabbit on his head.

"I'm not seeing how that's a bad thing…" Gaomon muttered to himself.

"I'd offer you a seat up here, but…" Leomon shrugged, nearly throwing Jeri and Kenta from his shoulders. "Oh, sorry, my bad…"

"Yeah, and I don't think Cyberdramon is about to let anyone ride him," Ryo chuckled humourlessly.

One by one, every member of the group started staring at Kazu, who finally noticed after over a minute.

"What?" he asked indignantly, turning to glare at as many people as he could. The effect was ruined, however, by the black eye he had been gifted with by Ryo. "What? Why are you all staring at me?"

"Could we perhaps have a lift?" Henry asked politely, rapping his partner on the head to cut off his sarcastic comment.

"Let me rephrase that," Gaomon growled menacingly. "Either you and Guardromon give us a lift or I show you _exactly _why pit bulls and children do not mix."

"Gaomon? You're not a-"

"Don't contradict me!" the blue-furred Digimon snapped at his Tamer. "If you think I'm going to walk any further in neck-high mud then you are ins-"

The canine was cut off by a loud hissing noise that echoed through the swamp and he turned along with the rest of his group to see a seemingly-infinite number of glowing red eyes glaring out at him from between the trees. A series of ripples began emanating outward from a point in the middle of the liquid mud lake about fifty metres from Gaomon and s colossal shape slowly reared up out of the swamp, mud cascading off of its form to reveal a twenty-foot long silver stag beetle. The beetle looked to the sky, seeming to taste the air as it clicked its antlers, before looking straight at the Tamers and Digimon and letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

"RUN!" Ryo shouted as over two dozen insectoid Digimon – most of them Champions with a few Ultimates dotted around – charged at them.

* * *

Forest Level, Sage's Tree

Sage watched all of this from a chamber underneath his tree, images of the unfolding events displayed on the surface of a pool of crystal-clear water. _They'll be fine, _he thought to himself idly. _And even if they did need help, they're too far away for Rika and Takato to get to…ah, well! It'll all work out in the end.

* * *

_

Forest Level, Sage's Valley – 12:32p.m.

Takato glanced uneasily over at Rika as she stared silently out over the lake. In an attempt to relieve the boredom of their perfectly-tranquil settings, the two children had decided to go exploring through the valley. The girl had barely spoken a dozen words in the whole three hours they had been out and Takato could clearly see that what had happened with Kazu was still bothering her. He decided that he should talk to her, and made his move while Guilmon was off chasing a butterfly.

"Rika? You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied in a flat voice without even looking at him.

"Look, what happened with Kazu-"

"I don't want to talk about it," she spat through gritted teeth. "It's in the past. Over and done with."

"But it's not, is it?" Takato retorted. "You've been messed up all day. Why are you letting what he said get to you?"

Rika whirled around, fixing the boy with an angry glare. "Why am I letting it _get to me_? Look at me Gogglehead! Do I look fully Japanese to you?"

"I…I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it…" Takato replied and was shocked by the response he got.

Rika's fury dissipated instantly and was replaced by a tiny smile. Not a cold smirk, not a sadistic grin, but an honest, warm, happy smile.

"Of course you didn't," she muttered quietly, her smile disappearing within seconds. "Well, I'm not. My dad was English and my mum's part Canadian."

"Okay…" the boy said slowly, not quite getting where she was going with this.

"A lot of people have a pretty backward view of race in Japan. They're racist to practically everyone and mixed race people…people like me get it the worst. It's not so bad in the working and middle classes, but when you got sent to a private school like I did…"

"Ah," Takato winced. "I…I'm sorry."

"What I'm trying to say is that I got enough crap like that back in Japan!" she snapped, her fists clenched at her sides. "I thought I'd gotten away from it and I thought…I thought Kazu was better than that."

"Look, I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it," the boy said softly. "I think when you started laying into each other and you were winning, he just grabbed the first thing he thought of. I mean, I'm not trying to excuse what he did or anything, but…you know…"

"I know," Rika sighed and gazed back out at the lake. "I know it was probably just a heat of the moment thing, but…"

"It still hurts."

The redhead merely nodded. _It's strange, _she thought idly. _Not long ago I'd never have thought of admitting that. But since I met Jeri…no, it was after that. Since I came to England and met Goggles and Brainiac and Goldilocks…hell, even Cam…_

"Thanks, Goggles," she said eventually.

"No problem. Not that I thought I was much help, but whatever," he chuckled in reply.

"You helped," Rika reassured him.

* * *

Swamp Level – 7:42p.m.

Jeri let out a tiny sigh of relief as the thunderous sound of footsteps faded slowly into the distance. The children and their Digimon had spent the entire day on the run from the horde of insect Digimon despite Kazu and Cyberdramon's near-suicidal insistence on trying to stand and fight.

"_There's just too many of them," _Henry had argued. _"If we had WarGrowlmon and Takato around, and if Renamon could Digivolve to Taomon, then we might have a chance. As it is, we're just too heavily outnumbered."_

In the end they had only managed to escape using an ingenious strategy cooked up by Henry and Ryo. Rapidmon and MachGaogamon had launched a surprise attack on the insects, spreading confusion through their ranks with help from their Tamers in the form of a pair of Cherrymon's Mist modify cards. As soon as the enemy force was shrouded in the fog, the rest of the Tamers and their Digimon had suddenly changed direction, guided to a small cave that Ryo assured them would be safe. Cam and Henry withdrew a few minutes later, their partners activating another mist attack to conceal their escape route. They met up with the rest of their group (with the obvious exception of Takato, Rika and Guilmon) just after nightfall, having taken many precautions to ensure that they would not be followed. In short, the insect horde had no idea which way the Tamers had gone.

"They're gone," Terriermon whispered as the footsteps receded beyond the range of even his impressive hearing.

"This is ridiculous," Gaomon muttered as he climbed to his feet. "We can't just sit here doing nothing! The enemy has split up into search parties to find us. We could pick them off a few at a time until there were few enough of them left for us to beat!"

"Oh, yeah?" the rabbit snorted and shook his head. "We've been on the run _all day_. We're too exhausted to fight anything! We'd just end up slipping up and getting our butts kicked!"

"He's right, mate," Cam added, placing a hand on his partner's shoulder. "I'm way too knackered for a fight tonight. Besides, it's not worth the risk of getting caught."

"Blue boy's right!" Kazu announced with a scowl. "I'm not gonna let these damn bugs scare me! We shouldn't be running – we're Tamers. We can take anything this world throws at us!"

"We _would _be standing and fighting," Ryo began, his voice dangerously quiet. "If _somebody _hadn't managed to take two of our Ultimates out of action."

"Hey, it's not my fault she got sucked into a Data Stream! And besides, she should get a sense of humour."

"Right, because I forgot how everyonetakes racism lying down…" the older boy spat sarcastically, getting to his feet and clenching his fists.

Kazu winced at this comment and a shadow of guilt passed across his face. "I didn't mean it," he protested weakly. "I just kind of…it just slipped out…"

"Oh, it just slipped out? Is that how you justify-"

Ryo's rant was cut off suddenly as Leomon leapt to his feet and drew his sword with inhuman speed, embedding it point-down in the ground between the arguing Tamers.

"That's enough," the leonine warrior growled and glared at each of the boys in turn, neither of them able to meet his gaze for long. "We do not have time for this bickering. Pointing fingers is helping nobody. If you have to carry out this exercise in futility, do it at a more appropriate time."

An uneasy silence descended on the group as Leomon sat back down next to his Tamer. The silence lasted for several minutes before Kenta broke it with a nervous cough.

"So…what are we gonna do?" the green-haired boy asked as he glanced around at the faces of his friends.

"We're too exhausted to try fighting them tonight," Ryo said simply. "And we won't have to keep running for much longer. The portal to the Forest Level is nearby – we should be able to make it there before lunchtime."

"It will be guarded," Cyberdramon growled, surprising even his Tamer. "The prey are not stupid. They know where we are going and that we have only one route available to us."

"So we're gonna end up fighting anyway," Jeri said quietly, slightly unnerved by the dragon's contribution. That had been the most consecutive words she had ever heard him speak. "We're gonna need a plan."

"What about a distraction?" Henry suggested. "Some of us could attack from one direction and lure them out of position, then have the rest of us attack from behind."

"Dividing our forces would be foolish," Gaomon replied with a shake of his head. "If one of the groups was detected they would be unable to survive an attack."

"Maybe a different type of distraction could work," Ryo added with a thoughtful frown. "If we sent out half of the group as bait and let them get spotted, we could have the rest of us waiting to ambush the enemy as they attacked. We could take out a lot of them that way."

"I guess it's as good a plan as any," the canine conceded. "How would we ambush the enemy, though? It's not exactly easy to hide Guardromon or Cyberdramon."

"Then we'll be the bait," Kazu declared with a grin. "We can lure them in while everyone else hides in the trees."

"I'll go with you," Kenta offered hesitantly. "If it all goes wrong, MarineAngemon can help protect you with his shield bubbles."

"It's settled, then," Cam nodded.

"Yeah, you three get to play rabbit while we do all the hard work kicking ass!"

"Terriermon…"

* * *

Forest Level, Sage's Tree – 8:22p.m.

Takato sighed contentedly as he swallowed his last mouthful of beef steak, glancing across at his partner who was currently polishing off his third helping. Rika, who had been eating in a much more civilized manner than her two companions, was still halfway through her first. Sage, meanwhile, was not eating at all.

"Thanks for the food Mr Sage," the boy said politely as he wiped the crumbs away from his mouth.

"Please, it's just Sage," the hooded Digimon chuckled in reply. "You certainly seemed to enjoy it."

"Would never have guessed with the amount he got all over his face," Rika muttered between mouthfuls, eliciting an embarrassed blush from her fellow Tamer.

"I've seen messier eaters," Sage reassured the boy with a pointed glance at Guilmon. "Guilmon seems to be doing his utmost to get it all over his snout _and _my floor."

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Takato laughed. "He'll clean up any mess he makes – probably by eating it…"

"Why am I not surprised?" the dark-skinned Digimon muttered with a grin as he climbed to his feet.

"So, how are our friends doing?" the boy asked in a concerned tone. "You said you were keeping an eye on them, so…"

"They are well, for the most part," Sage replied. "They spent the last day being chased by a horde of Zhuqiaomon's servants – and before you say anything, I would have told you about their predicament but they were too far away for you to reach in time."

"We could have tried anyway!" Rika shouted angrily from around a mouthful of steak.

"With one Ultimate? It would have been suicide. The enemy force has ten Ultimates in total, plus many more Champions."

The redhead's only response was a low growl as she tucked back into her meal.

"How does Zhuqiaomon have so many servants all over the Digital World?" Takato asked with a worried frown. "I mean, so far he's sent more Digimon against us than we can count! There was the Tuskmon, the Goblimon, Megadramon and Gigadramon…"

"Zhuqiaomon is the ruler of this quadrant," Sage replied with a touch of bitterness. "He has access to practically-limitless resources and an army of fanatical, brainwashed followers."

"I thought the Sovereigns were meant to be _guardians_, not rulers," Rika said, her sarcastic tone making it clear that she didn't believe that for a second.

"Yes, that is what they're _supposed _to be," their host sighed. "This would never have happened before Nova Ragnarök."

"Nova what?" Guilmon asked with a puzzled frown.

"Nova Ragnarök," the hooded Digimon said slowly. "If you're after an explanation then I'd rather give it somewhere that is more comfortable. It is a _very _long story."

Rika quickly finished her meal and began to gather up her plates, only for Sage to stop her with a chuckle and a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Oh, don't bother with that. The tree will take care of it."

* * *

Minutes later, the two children were sat on a ridiculously comfortable sofa, with Sage sat in the armchair opposite them. Guilmon, meanwhile, was curled up in front of the roaring fire, one eye open and watching Sage as he began his story.

"What I am about to tell you is known to only a select few Digimon. The story was forgotten bit by bit over the years until only the tiniest shreds remained as part of folk stories and myths.

"This is the story of the genesis of the Digital World."

* * *

When the Digital World was first created, it was ruled only by chaos and disorder. Digimon were nothing more than rabid animals and the very surface of the world was dangerously unstable. Eventually, the programmers who created the Digital World came up with a solution. They designed an advanced digital life form to watch over and maintain the functions of the Digital World. This program was a great success and it quickly set about its task of stabilizing the demented plane. It sent parts of its own programming to different parts of the world, separating large fragments of it into the four quadrants and then into the Levels that you know today – the desert, the ocean, the jungle and many others. This stabilization of the Digital World allowed the programmers to develop the intelligence of the Digimon to its current high level.

When the original programmers were forced to abandon their project, the ever-watchful program began to ponder the nature of its own existence. It spotted parallels between its own situation and a story from Norse mythology and decided to name itself Yggdrasil – the World Tree. As life continued in the Digital World, Yggdrasil was forced to take on more and more responsibilities. When the Digimon population began to run low, it took action, solving the problem by generating new Digi-eggs in specially-created nurseries whenever Digimon died. It created immensely powerful guardians in the form of the Sovereigns to watch over the quadrants and prevent full-scale wars from erupting. Three of the Sovereigns did their jobs admirably. The fourth, however…was less dedicated. This Sovereign was called Zhuqiaomon.

Not content with the power bestowed upon him by Yggdrasil, Zhuqiaomon began building an army in the Southern Quadrant, forcing Digimon to worship him as a god. Eventually Yggdrasil could tolerate the Sovereign's excesses no longer and it cautioned Zhuqiaomon that to continue his play for power would be to invite disaster. Zhuqiaomon, in his infinite arrogance, dared his creator to strike against him, believing it to be nothing more than a powerless old fraud that was no match for his might. Yggdrasil responded by unveiling its trump card – an elite force of thirteen Mega-level Digimon, each possessing a level of power never before seen in the Digital World. These Digimon were part of a martial brotherhood originally formed by the noble Imperialdramon, and each member had been recruited from the most horrific environments and circumstances imaginable. Before it sent them on their inaugural mission, Yggdrasil christened them with a name that would bring hope to the oppressed and strike fear into the hearts of the unjust. He named them the Royal Knights.

Each of the Royal Knights was a one-man army and though some of the details have been lost, we do know the names of eleven of the members. They were led by the wise and mighty Alphamon, who was gifted with the powerful Alpha inForce – a piece of code that allowed him to warp time itself, striking an enemy an infinite number of times with just one attack. His deputy was Omnimon, gifted with the Omega inForce that allowed him to see the actions of an enemy before they had taken them. Next in the chain of command was UlforceVeedramon, wielder of the terrifying Ulforce. The Ulforce granted him the ability to regenerate damage at unbelievable speed – faster than it was possible to actually cause damage, making him nigh-on invincible. The other members were not granted such powerful gifts, but were formidable nonetheless. There was Duftmon the master strategist, the noble Gallantmon, the passionate Dynasmon, Crusadermon the Indifferent Warrior, the honourable Craniamon, Examon the Dragon Emperor, the loyal Magnamon and the swift-footed Sleipmon.

When the Royal Knights were unleashed upon Zhuqiaomon's armies, the devastation was apocalyptic in scale. Thousands of brainwashed Digimon fell to the blades of the knights, even the Sovereign's Mega-level lieutenants being reduced to ash in the face of the knights' righteous fury. When only Zhuqiaomon himself remained, Alphamon stepped forwards and demanded his surrender. Outnumbered more than a dozen to one by opponents that, even individually, exceeded his own considerable power, the Sovereign submitted and pleaded for mercy. Yggdrasil heard his pleas and allowed the disgraced Digimon to retain his post as Sovereign, under the condition that he would be subjected to constant scrutiny from both Yggdrasil himself and Huanglongmon – a Digimon created specifically to lead the four Sovereigns. As the alternative was death, Zhuqiaomon quickly agreed and his ambitions were kept in check for many years by the watchfulness of Huanglongmon.

Unbeknownst to anyone – not even those who had created it – there was a flaw in Yggdrasil's programming. This flaw caused a madness that spread throughout Yggdrasil's systems and as the years passed it began to make itself known to the world. Yggdrasil called Alphamon into its innermost sanctum and demanded that he and the rest of the Royal Knights worship it as a god. When Alphamon refused, Yggdrasil destroyed him in a fit of rage and promoted Omnimon to the position of leader of the Royal Knights. The great tree lied to its knights, telling them that their leader had left to become a hermit and contemplate the nature of his existence. Yggdrasil then told Omnimon that his last order had been to recognize the undeniable divinity of their creator, even showing a falsified recording as "proof". Faced with such undeniable evidence and motivated by respect for their friend, the Royal Knights bowed their heads in worship.

Things proceeded in this manner for several years, the Royal Knights becoming less like warriors for justice and more like fanatical hired thugs for their god. Yggdrasil's madness peaked at the turn of the millennium when it initiated "Project Ark".

Ark was Yggdrasil's answer to the imagined problem of overpopulation in the Digital World. Instead of merely reducing the rate of creation for new Digimon, it opted for introducing a virus known as "X" into the general population. This virus killed every Digimon it came into contact with, and among its victims was the noble Huanglongmon. Only those few Digimon who possessed a special code mutation known as the X-Antibody were immune. The X-Antibody Digimon formed a resistance group and Yggdrasil was quick to send its Royal Knights after them, declaring them to be "abominations against the natural order". Their minds dulled by over a decade of indoctrination, the knights slaughtered these innocents wholesale. It was then, however, that an old face returned to the Digital World, one not seen since Yggdrasil's self-declared apotheosis. Alphamon had returned.

Somehow the great knight had returned from the planes of Anubismon and he revealed to his fellow Royal Knights the injustices that had been committed by Yggdrasil. With their eyes opened, the knights rose up in rebellion and destroyed their god in a bout of righteous fury in the great battle that came to be known as Nova Ragnarök.

Nova Ragnarök was to have far-reaching consequences that none could have predicted. With the death of Yggdrasil, the Digital World began to destabilize and no new Digimon were being born. Working as quickly as they could, the Royal Knights tried to atone for their mistake by creating a new, more limited program to replace the dead god. It was completed in less than a day and they named it Verdandi in honour of another ancient Norse myth. Unfortunately, they were not quick enough to prevent some damage being done to the Digital World, such as a fusion of large fragments of the Forest, Mountain and Industrial Levels to create the Hub Level. This system was not perfect even when completed, and there have been many errors both major and minor in its operating since then. The greatest tragedy of this saga, however, is the fate of the Royal Knights themselves.

With the death of Yggdrasil, the Royal Knights called a grand council in the ruins of Yggdrasil's fortress to discuss their next move. Alphamon, Omnimon UlforceVeedramon and Gallantmon believed that they should take no further part in the affairs of the Digital World as they had proven themselves to be easily-influenced by others. However, four of their fellow knights – Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon and Examon – believed that the Digital World would collapse without a strong ruler and argued that the Royal Knights should rule in Yggdrasil's stead. The dispute between the two sides quickly turned nasty as they fought for the vote of the three undecided members – Magnamon, Sleipmon and Duftmon. In the end, Magnamon and Sleipmon sided with Alphamon and his allies, while Duftmon remained undecided, walking out of the chamber in shame and renouncing his status as a Royal Knight as he saw what his brethren had become. The defeated minority led by Craniamon were ejected from the chamber soon after and were forcibly stripped of their membership in the Royal Knights.

It now fell to the remaining knights to plan their next course of action. After a long debate, it was decided that the three Great Forces held by Alphamon, Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon were far too dangerous to be allowed to survive. If another Digimon were to get their hands on even one of these forces, they could install themselves as a new overlord of the Digital World. Unfortunately, these forces had become a part of the Digimon they had been assigned to and removing or destroying them would result in death for the knight concerned. The three Digimon were more than willing to make this sacrifice for the good of the Digital World and the last six Royal Knights made their way to the great temple at the base of the Tree of Yggdrasil. In this temple, the three great knights committed ritual suicide, their Great Forces rising from their rapidly-disintegrating corpses and into the waiting hands of their brothers. As the last knights began the ritual to destroy the three Great Forces, disaster struck. The four rebellious knights broke down the doors of the great temple and attacked while their former allies were distracted, hoping to gain the limitless power of the Great Forces for themselves.

The battle that followed was short but intense. Sleipmon and Magnamon were immediately cut down, Gallantmon falling mere seconds later. As the holy knight was struck down by Crusadermon he was filled with holy zeal and he destroyed the Indifferent Warrior in a burst of crimson light. With his dying breath the mighty warrior lashed out at the three forces, robbing them of the majority of their power and scattering them to the far corners of the Digital World.

The rebellious knights were furious – not only had their plans been foiled, they had also lost one of their number. They began another round of petty bickering, which quickly turned into an all-out battle for control of the Digital World. Their fighting was interrupted by Zhuqiaomon who, sensing the death of Yggdrasil, travelled to his great realm accompanied by an army he had raised in secret with the intention of claiming the dead god's throne. The Sovereign had taken a piece of code called The Catalyst of Digivolution and implanted it into a Digimon. This Digimon was enslaved and forced to use its powers to create an army of Ultimate and Mega-level Digimon for Zhuqiaomon to use in his dreams of world domination.

A pitched battle erupted between the four factions, ending in a four-way tie as a stray attack tore a hole in the fabric of Yggdrasil's realm. Dynasmon, Examon and Zhuqiaomon were thrown into the Southern Quadrant, while Craniamon was slain in the resulting chaos along with most of Zhuqiaomon's army. The three Digimon emerged in different parts of the Southern Quadrant and were horrified to find that the damage to Yggdrasil's realm had caused the walls between quadrants to solidify. Their dreams for conquest of the Digital World were over before they had even begun. The Catalyst had escaped from Zhuqiaomon's fortress in the Sovereign Level, leaving him unable to recreate his grand army. In the meantime, Dynasmon took over command of the Knightmon Orders that had previously been ruled over by his lover, Crusadermon, while Examon founded the Dramon Kingdom deep inside the Mountain Level.

* * *

"The three factions were locked into a stalemate that has lasted to this day. While Zhuqiaomon could easily defeat either of his rivals in a pitched battle, he dares not move against one in case he exposes himself to attack by the other."

"So, what happened to Duftmon?" Guilmon asked as Sage finished his story.

"Nobody knows," the hooded Digimon replied. "Some say he was hunted down and killed by Dynasmon, but there is no proof of that. Others say that he still lives on as a hermit in another quadrant, having escaped there via Yggdrasil's realm before it was so badly damaged in the fight."

"You said there were thirteen Royal Knights, but you only mentioned eleven of them," Rika began with a thoughtful look. "What about the other two? Don't we know anything about them?"

"No, but once again, there are theories. It is believed that they left the Royal Knights at around the same time as Alphamon, perhaps a little while before or after. It is possible that they were simply killed by Yggdrasil, but Alphamon's return from the dead brings about the possibility that they too may have been reborn, or could be in the future."

"Why did Yggdrasil let Zhuqiaomon keep his powers? Wouldn't it have been more sensible to turn him into a Rookie or something so he wouldn't be a threat?" Takato asked.

"I do not know why Zhuqiaomon was not completely deposed. It is possible that the flaw in Yggdrasil's system caused him to misjudge the situation, or he may have been unable to create another Sovereign."

"How did Alphamon come back from the dead? Wait, let me guess," Rika snorted. "You don't know."

"Correct. The secret died with Alphamon, or else every Digimon would do it," Sage replied with a grin. "Now, if there are no more questions, you should get some rest. Your friends are going to need your help tomorrow and you'll be leaving for the gate to the Swamp Level not long after dawn."


	28. Chapter 28

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Unity**

Sunday 14th November – 7:42a.m.

Forest Level, Sage's Valley

"You got everything, Goggles?" Rika asked as she adjusted the pack of food on her back.

"Uh, let's see…food, D-Arc, cards, Guilmon, goggles…yeah, I think that's it."

"In that case, let us leave as soon as possible," Sage suggested as he led the two children and the Digimon down the long path leading from his enormous tree-house. "You shall have to move quickly if you are to reach the gate to the Swamp Level in time to assist your friends."

The group walked on in silence for a while until they reached the fissure in the rock that marked the exit from Sage's idyllic valley. A tunnel stretched a few dozen metres back from the fissure, a thirty-foot high door made of smooth grey stone visible at the far end. As they reached the entrance to the tunnel, Sage motioned for them to stop, stepping forward and launching into a series of complex gestures as a green light gathered around his hands. The hooded Digimon finished his strange ritual with a flourish, the colossal door flashing briefly green as he did so. The door split in half down the middle, the two halves swinging lazily open without a sound to reveal a beautiful view over a vast expanse of thick woodland.

"Wow…" Guilmon sighed as he gazed longingly out at the Forest Level. "Pretty…"

"Beware the beauty of the beast," Sage warned the little red dinosaur. "The forest holds many dangerous Digimon, but you should be safe if you stick to the path I told you about."

"Thanks for everything, Sage," Takato said with a smile. "If it wasn't for you…"

"Oh, don't mention it. By the way, feel free to return here with your friends if you need to. Odds are they'll be exhausted after their time on the run."

"We may have to take you up on that," Rika remarked with a smirk. "The Dimwit Duo have about as much stamina as a pair of sloths. Let's go, Gogglehead."

"Oh, before you go, there is one last thing I have to tell you," Sage declared with a clap of his hands. "Your bond with your partner is your greatest weapon – do not be afraid to use it. In battle, try to lose yourself in that bond. You will gain power greater than anything you could imagine."

"Uh, okay…" Takato said hesitantly, obviously confused by the strange Digimon's cryptic words. "What do you mean 'lose ourselves'?"

"You will know when the time comes."

Sensing that he wasn't going to get anything else out of their host, Takato quickly swiped a Digivolution card and climbed onto his gargantuan partner's back. Rika quickly joined him, and the enormous dinosaur set off down the long tunnel at a lumbering jog. They emerged into the daylight a few seconds later, the doors closing behind them with a surprisingly quiet thud. After a few minutes, the trio reached a fork in the road.

"Uh, Rika?" Takato began, turning around with a sheepish grin. "Did Sage say to go left or right at the fork?"

"Gogglehead…"

* * *

Swamp Level – 8:23a.m.

The Tamers' camp in the isolated swamp cave was bustling with nervous activity. The children were busy packing away their camping equipment, their workload much lighter than usual due to the lack of a fire the previous night. At Henry's suggestion, they had decided not to risk a campfire as the smoke and light would be clearly visible to their pursuers. The mood in the camp was tense, with everyone's minds being occupied with thoughts of the coming battle.

"You nervous?" Cam asked as he sat down next to Henry.

"A little, I guess," the blue-haired Tamer replied honestly.

"Same here. It's weird – I've never really felt like this about a fight before…"

"It is probably because the fights we are involved in are not usually planned in advance," Gaomon suggested as he struggled to force a sleeping bag into a backpack. "This time we know there is going to be a battle. Add to that the fact that we actually have a plan…"

"You guys worry too much!" Terriermon laughed and began flexing his biceps. "We can take these bugs no problem. They'll never know what hit 'em!"

"Yeah," Kazu agreed. "Our plan is totally airtight. I can't wait to kick some digital ass!"

"Henry," Terriermon began in a sing-song voice. "Is it wrong that I want to disprove my own argument just because Kazu agreed with it?"

"Terriermon…"

* * *

"We're almost ready to move out, you guys!" Ryo called out to Jeri, Kenta and their partners, who were currently stood a short distance away from the cave entrance.

"Okay, we'll be with you in a minute," Jeri replied, turning back to her boyfriend with a worried frown.

"Don't look like that," Kenta said with a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, really. I'm gonna have Cyberdramon and Guardromon right beside me, and you and Leomon will have my back."

"Pipipuhpi!"

"I know, it's just…" the girl mumbled quietly, a small blush working across her face as Kenta took her hands in his.

"I'll be fine. I promise."

"Hey, get a move on chumley! What's keeping ya?" Kazu shouted from the cave mouth.

"Just a minute!" Kenta called in reply, mentally thanking Leomon for interposing himself between the couple and the cave mouth. _Not quite ready to tell everyone about us yet…_

"We really do need to go, don't we?" Jeri sighed quietly, leaning forwards to give her boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "Be careful."

"Y-you too," the boy mumbled as his own face flushed crimson.

* * *

The Tamers and their Digimon split into two groups immediately, the "bait" party going ahead while the ambushers followed discreetly in the treetops. They stayed apart during their rest stops, and didn't even risk talking about their plan in case they were overheard by Zhuqiaomon's insect horde. After a couple of hours of walking, they were finally spotted by one of their enemies' search teams.

* * *

"Commander JewelBeemon!" a six-foot long, pale green dragonfly called in a high-pitched, nasal voice. "Command-"

"What is it?" a haughty, imperious voice interrupted in an irritated tone. "This had better be important, commoner…"

JewelBeemon was an oddly majestic figure – an elegant, bipedal beetle-type creature covered with a thick green carapace. The vulnerable joints of the carapace were protected by rings of red metal, each ring inscribed with a phrase in Digi-code. A series of oval-shaped yellow gems studded his armour, ranging from an inch across to over a foot. His arms were tipped with enormous scythe-like talons, an armour-clad hand protruding from the underside of each talon. In one hand he held a long-handled spear with a barbed point made of red metal. Four iridescent silver-white wings extended from his back, a mane of bristly white hair concealing the joints.

"Forgive my intrusion noble one, but we have found some of the humans!" Yanmamon chattered as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

"_Some _of the humans?"

"They appear to have split into two groups of three humans and three Digimon each. The location of the other group is still unknown. Shall I reassign some of our defence forces to attack them?"

"Hmmm…" JewelBeemon grunted as he took on a thoughtful expression. "No! This could be a trick to weaken our defences. Reassign our search parties to take part in the attack. And have an Okuwamon lead them!"

"B-but sire…"

"Do not question me! The human Ryo is known to be an excellent tactician. He would not be foolish enough to allow them to divide their forces. I predict that this is a ruse designed to lure our forces into some form of trap. And there is little point in searching for them when we already know where they are going."

"But why not turn their ambush into one of our own?" the insectoid aide suggested. "We could have a trap ready to spring after they have revealed themselves."

"No. Better to let them think that their plan has worked, and then set a trap at the gate. Besides, I need a way to get rid of one of the Okuwamon. Those self-obsessed barbarians are starting to get on my nerves…"

* * *

11:02p.m.

"Man, this bites…" Kazu grumbled as he waded through the filthy water of the swamp. "I mean, the boredom is bad enough, but the smell? That's just adding insult to injury."

"Kazu?" Cyberdramon growled, making the boy jump. "Shut up."

The visor-wearing Tamer did not shut up, instead opting for muttering under his breath about how everyone was out to get him recently. His ranting quickly began to annoy even Kenta, who had years of experience in tuning his best friend out. Eventually, the green-haired boy came up with a way to get him to shut up and was about to put his plan into action when a crazed, nasal voice called out from the group's left.

"**Destructive Impulse!**"

A beam of blood-red energy suddenly tore through the swamp, incinerating several trees as it bore down on the Tamers and their Digimon. MarineAngemon acted quickly, erecting a pink, heart-shaped shield around the group just in time to absorb the attack. The impact still sent a wave of pressure and heat radiating outwards, boiling countless gallons of swamp water and sending even more spraying into the air.

"Kill them!" the voice roared again. "Kill the abominations in the name of Lord Zhuqiaomon!"

As the steam and mist cleared, the Tamers finally caught sight of their attacker – the enormous, grey stag beetle they had seen before. It was not alone – four vivid red Kuwagamon and eight green, mantis-like Snimon accompanied the Ultimate-level Digimon.

"This isn't gonna end well…" Kenta mumbled as MarineAngemon dropped his shield and the swarm of Champions flew towards them.

"Maybe not for them," Kazu laughed as he swiped a blue card. "**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

"**Guardromon Digivolve to…Andromon!**"

The silver android leapt at the nearest Snimon, his arm morphing into an energy blade projector as he began to duel with the vicious green Digimon. While he was distracted, one of the Kuwagamon and two more of the Snimon started to circle around him, trying to get an attack in against his exposed flanks or rear.

"**Winning Knuckle!**" MachGaogamon roared as he flew from a nearby treetop at breakneck speed, slamming his fist into the Kuwagamon and sending it crashing into a tree so hard the unhealthy-looking plant broke like a matchstick. A second Winning Knuckle attack crushed the injured insect's head like a paper cup, a spray of green ichor staining the wolf's fur.

"**Miracle Missile!**" Rapidmon cheered as he emerged from the same treetop and blew away one of the Snimon in a storm of rocket fire, badly stunning its two allies.

A pair of Kuwagamon broke off their charges and flew towards the two newcomers, only to be intercepted by two more new arrivals. Leomon leapt from another treetop onto the first stag beetle's back, incinerating one of its wings with a Fist of the Beast King attack as he was still in mid-air. As he landed, he buried his sword in the vulnerable neck joint of the Digimon's carapace, drawing a gurgling shriek from the insect. He wrenched the blade free with a grunt of effort, practically decapitating his opponent who quickly dissolved into data. The second Kuwagamon flew straight into a Power Paw attack from Renamon, who hit it in the face so hard she snapped one of its mandibles clean off. A well-aimed Diamond Storm coated the unarmoured inside of its mouth with crystals which exploded a second later, tearing the beetle's head to bloody ribbons.

Meanwhile, Cyberdramon had chosen to challenge the toughest target available, tackling Okuwamon to the ground with a feral roar. The enormous beetle swung his head to the side, striking his attacker in the skull with his right mandible and stunning him momentarily. The dragon snarled in pain as Okuwamon's jaws closed around his abdomen, piercing the armour and drawing blood. With a roar of pure rage, Cyberdramon kicked out with his left knee, shattering the beetle's jaw and causing one side of his mouth to go slack. Taking advantage of the opening, the cyborg quickly slipped free of his opponent's injured mouth, planting a vicious backward kick on Okuwamon's forehead as he leapt into the air. The insect lurched backwards, regaining his balance and launching into the air in pursuit of his foe, a series of slurred, incomprehensible insults tearing from his mutilated mouth.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**" Ryo called as he slashed a card, seeing his partner's plan.

Cyberdramon accelerated away from his attacker until there was a fair amount of distance between them, then spun around and dove towards the insect faster than the eye could follow. As he thundered past his foe, the dragon lashed out with his right arm with a cry of "**Cyber Nail!**", his claws shredding Okuwamon's carapace like paper. As a shriek of pain left the insectoid Digimon's lips, Cyberdramon's plan became apparent. Using the friction between his claws and his opponent's carapace, he decelerated suddenly and whipped his armoured form around so that he was behind the wounded insect. The dragon slashed his left arm at Okuwamon's back, his roar of "**Desolation Claw!**" sending a wave of iridescent energy flying from his claws to slice through the soft, exposed flesh below his wings. A horrifying scream tore itself from the beetle's mutilated mouth as he was eviscerated – a scream that was quickly silenced as Cyberdramon decapitated him with two quick blows from his claws.

By the time the dragon was finished absorbing his fallen foe's data, the battle was practically over. With the help of a Power card from his Tamer, Andromon sliced a pair of Snimon in half with a single blow from his Lightning Blade. Rapidmon and MachGaogamon teamed up against the final mantis, the wolf throwing their foe into the air with a bone-shattering uppercut as the rabbit fired a Tri-beam at empty space above the insect. There was a sickening sizzling sound as the Snimon was consumed by the energy beam, accompanied by the odd aroma of burning hair. A shout of "**Kahuna Waves!**" from MarineAngemon immobilized the last Kuwagamon, encasing the end of each of its limbs in heart-shaped bubbles that left it easy prey for Leomon and Renamon. The pair dispatched the beetle easily, amputating the beetle's limbs with surgical precision as the oddly-inappropriate restraints began to contract, crushing Kuwagamon's claws in their vice-like grip. As the last of its limbs fell to the ground and dissolved into data, Leomon launched a fireball into the insect's open mouth with a roar of "**Fist of the Beast King!**", blowing out the back of its skull in a spray of ichor.

* * *

"That went well," Leomon noted as he sheathed his sword and reached up to a nearby tree to help his Tamer down.

"Speak for yourself," MachGaogamon growled as he glared at his fur in disgust. "You didn't get bug blood all over your fur!"

"And they say it's cats who are meant to be OCD about being clean…" Rapidmon chuckled, dodging a half-hearted Howling Cannon attack from the canine.

"One day I am going to _break _you, little rabbit!"

"We're all waiting for that day with bated breath," Henry remarked as he climbed down from his tree. "Thanks for the help, by the way!"

"What? You need the exercise!"

"Rapidmon…"

"It just doesn't have the same ring to it!" Cam complained with a grin. "Anyway, we should get moving. We need to 'Strike while the iron is hot!' and all that crap. How long will it take to get to the portal?"

"About an hour, I think. Maybe a little more," Ryo replied as he took up his customary position on Cyberdramon's shoulder. "We should stay alert. The enemy might send out their forces to intercept us before we reach their defence line."

"What's left of it, you mean!" Kazu laughed.

* * *

Forest Level – 11:22a.m.

"Hey, Rika," Takato began as he turned to the redhead sat behind him atop Growlmon's back. "What do you think Sage meant when he said we should 'lose ourselves' in our bonds with our partners?"

The girl pondered the question for several seconds before she spoke. "I don't know. I mean, I might be able to get lost or whatever in my telepathic link with Renamon, but you…"

"Hmmm…what about you, Growlmon? Any ideas?"

"Nope," the saurian replied with a small shake of his head. "But remember what Sagemon said! We'll know what to do when we get there."

"Yeah, maybe you're right, boy. I mean, he did seem to know what he was talking about."

The trio lapsed into silence for a few minutes, content to merely enjoy their beautiful surroundings. Growlmon eventually spoke up as a thought occurred to him.

"I bet you can't wait until we get back to the others, Rika!" the dinosaur chattered idly. "You haven't seen Renamon for more than a whole day. I get sad when I don't see Takatomon for a few hours because he's at school…"

"Hmmm…" the redhead sighed in reply, her thoughts directing themselves towards her partner.

_I wonder what's been happening since we've been gone. I bet she's worried sick about me. At least I know nothing's happened to her – Sage would have told me if she'd been hurt or…worse._

"Rika?" Takato called hesitantly as he saw his friend's absent look. "You okay there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about Renamon."

"Well, Guilmon was right. We'll be seeing her and the others soon and then we can get back on track for the Sovereign Level."

"Yeah," she nodded, keeping her next words to herself. _But there are a couple of people I wouldn't mind __**not**__ being reunited with…_

* * *

Swamp Level – 12:06p.m.

"There they are," Cam whispered as he, Henry, Gaomon and Terriermon gazed down at the defence line around the portal from their vantage point atop a tall, spindly tree. The remnants of the insect horde were scattered around a large patch of swamp that was clear of trees for in a five hundred metre radius around the portal. The portal itself was a glowing blue translucent disc floating above a twenty-metre high ziggurat. "There really aren't many of them left."

"No, there aren't…" Gaomon muttered in a worried tone, a thoughtful frown crossing his features.

"Yeah, I mean, I know we're awesome and everything but we didn't thin their numbers _that _much…" Terriermon added.

"You think it's a trap?" the black-haired boy asked, matching his partner's worried expression.

"I don't see how it can be," Henry began with a shake of his head. "I can't see anywhere nearby for them to hide more forces and what would be the point of hiding further away? They'd just risk letting us escape before their reinforcements could arrive."

"Something still feels wrong," Gaomon replied with a low growl. "This is way too easy."

"We'll be careful, then," Terriermon reassured the canine as he began climbing back down the tree. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure we can take whatever they throw at us. There's a reason Zhuqiaomon is so scared of us!"

* * *

JewelBeemon remained perfectly still as the Tamers slashed their Matrix Digivolution cards and their partners began moving towards the defence lines as quickly and quietly as they could. He held his breath as Rapidmon roared past his treetop hiding place less than a metre away, creating a powerful gust of wind that nearly threw the insectoid general to the ground.

_Careful… _he admonished himself as he regained his balance. _Can't afford to lose my balance. Using my prismatic armour like this takes enough effort without compensating for my own movement. Just wait until they go past, wait until they take the bait and then…_

* * *

Cyberdramon leapt into the air and spread his wings, soaring towards one of the Snimon at the edge of the clearing. The dragon let out an exuberant roar as he decapitated his opponent with one slice of his claws, two more mantis Digimon disappearing in twin clouds of smoke and shrapnel as they were struck by Rapidmon and Andromon's missiles. A fourth Snimon was crushed like the insect it was by a high speed punch from MachGaogamon that sent green ichor spraying in every direction.

_The prey is weak, _Cyberdramon thought disdainfully as Leomon and Renamon despatched a Kuwagamon with a series of acrobatic attacks. Suddenly, a shudder ran down the dragon's spine and he dove to the side, avoiding a red-bladed spear that slammed into the ground where he had been stood less than a second before. Cyberdramon quickly pulled himself to his feet, turning to see a green-armoured insectoid warrior appear out of thin air, eight Okuwamon and more than forty Snimon and Kuwagamon shimmering into existence beside him.

_The prey is the hunter…_

* * *

A spark of confusion flooded Ryo's mind as his partner leapt to the side, narrowly dodging a spear that had appeared seemingly from nowhere. That confusion deepened as Cyberdramon let out a bestial roar and charged back towards the treeline, turning to fear as Ryo saw his partner's targets.

_JewelBeemon... _he cursed mentally as he recognized the leader of the swarm. _Now it makes sense! He must have used his prismatic armour to cloak the entire force and avoid detection._

"It's a trap!" the boy shouted in warning to the other Tamers, pointing back towards the enemy reinforcements. "They used JewelBeemon's armour to make themselves invisible!"

Ryo's warning came not a moment too soon as the insect horde began charging at the Tamers. Rapidmon and MachGaogamon broke off their attacks on the enemy decoys, moving to intercept the newcomers and unleashing a barrage of sonic cannon blasts and missile fire. Leomon began to make his way back to his Tamer's side a second later, leaving the bait to Andromon and Renamon.

Cyberdramon, meanwhile, made a beeline for the enemy commander. JewelBeemon leapt aside, dodging a Desolation Claw energy wave and summoning his spear with a wave of his right hand. The dragon was placed firmly on the defensive as the beetle launched into a series of elegant slashes and thrusts with his spear, forcing his opponent to grudgingly give ground. At some invisible signal from its leader, the horde of insects gave the duel a wide berth, leaving the two warriors to their battle.

* * *

"**Digi-Modify! Power activate!**" Cam called, slashing the card as his partner took aim with his arm cannon.

"**Howling Cannon!**" the werewolf roared, firing a wave of concentrated sonic energy that sent four Snimon and a Kuwagamon flying back toward the treeline. Two of the Snimon disintegrated into data as they were dashed against large rocks, the other three Digimon quickly getting back to their feet and resuming their charge.

"**Double Scissor Claw!**" a crazed voice shouted from MachGaogamon's left, and the blue-furred Digimon was forced to dodge suddenly to the right to avoid a massive pair of grey, bladed pincers.

_This isn't good, _the canine thought as he dodged another attack, darting between his enormous enemy's legs and unleashing a pair of Winning Knuckle attacks that took its legs out from under it. He leapt into the air, preparing to finish the stag beetle with a diving punch, but was knocked to the ground by a surprise slash from a Kuwagamon's claws.

"**Power Guillo-**"

"**Winning Knuckles!**" MachGaogamon roared, putting his fist through the red beetle's skull as it moved in to decapitate him with its fearsome pincers. "You're next!" he growled as the Okuwamon stomped slowly towards him.

Rapidmon jinked to the left, narrowly avoiding a beam of crimson energy fired at him by an Okuwamon only to place himself in the crosshairs of a trio of Snimon. The three mantises each unleashed a pair of pink, crescent-shaped waves of energy at the cyborg who launched into a barrel roll, arcing up and to his right as the attacks sailed underneath him.

"**Miracle Missile!**" the rabbit called out, unleashing a storm of rocket fire that reduced the three insects to a fine green paste. "**Rapid Fire!**" he called out and fired a pair of snap-shots at a Kuwagamon as it moved to intercept him, the missiles blowing craters in the stag beetle's head and chest.

"**Destructive Impulse!**" the Okuwamon called as it fired another beam of crimson energy at Rapidmon, this time clipping his shoulder as he tried to recover from his barrel roll. The rabbit was sent spiralling out of control with a loud curse, slamming into the ground and skidding painfully on his left side for over a dozen metres. Rapidmon yelped in pain as he clipped a rock and was catapulted several feet into the air, his thrusters firing in a desperate attempt to regain control of his flight. All that the cyborg succeeded in doing was slowing himself down enough to provide an easy target for Okuwamon, who headbutted him fiercely with a roar of "**Beetle Horn Attack!**"

_This is not my day… _the rabbit thought as he slammed into a rather unhealthy-looking tree, snapping it clean in two with his armoured face.

* * *

Forest Level

"We're here!" Takato cheered as they came upon the shores of a small lake, a glowing blue translucent disk of energy floating on a small island at the centre of the water. A strip of land several metres wide connected the shore to the portal, which looked to be over three stories in diameter.

"Come on!" Rika snapped as she climbed off of Growlmon and set off towards the portal at a run. "The fight will have started by now – they don't stand a chance without us!"

The boy nodded in agreement, sliding off of his partner's back as he drew a card from the holder at his belt.

"You ready for this, boy?" Takato asked as he ran towards the portal.

"Ready, Takatomon!" the dinosaur growled in reply.

"Great – 'cause we're gonna kick their butts!" the brown-haired Tamer cheered. "They made a _big _mistake when they picked a fight with our friends. Now they gotta deal with us!"

"Nothing can beat us when we fight together!" Growlmon roared exuberantly. "Without you, I'd be just another Digimon, but with you I can take on the whole Digital World!"

As the words left his partner's mouth, a wave of indescribable sensations washed over Takato. His vision blurred and refocused, the view through Growlmon's eyes overlaid on the vision from his own. He could feel the pounding of the saurian's clawed feet against the ground as if they were his own, feel the fire burning inside him so strongly the boy felt he could breathe fire himself if he merely willed it. The card in his hand flashed blue and he slashed it as they leapt through the portal

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

* * *

Swamp Level

Cyberdramon let out a snarl of pain as he failed to dodge yet another of JewelBeemon's attacks, the beetle's spear carving a long furrow through both armour and flesh. _A worthy foe, _the dragon thought with an odd sense of joy. _I will enjoy this battle, no matter the outcome._

Cyberdramon parried another thrust of his opponent's spear with a sweep of his right hand, contorting his body and lunging forward with his left in an attempt to decapitate the insect. JewelBeemon jerked out of the way of the cyborg's razor-sharp claws and lashed out with his own taloned forearm, scoring a shallow groove in his attacker's chest armour. The two combatants broke apart for a few seconds, each searching for a weakness in the other's defences. As they were about to begin their duel anew, a boy's voice called out confidently.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Sp-**"

"NO!" Cyberdramon roared, interrupting his Tamer. "You have no part in this! I will defeat the prey alone or not at all."

"But Cyberdramon, he's too fast for y-"

"Then I shall fall to a superior predator!" the dragon roared and leapt at JewelBeemon with claws outstretched. "**Cyber Nail! Cyber Nail! CYBER NAIL!**"

The insect reacted to the berserk series of attacks with near-impossible speed, blocking those few which he could not dodge. Only one of Cyberdramon's attacks actually struck its target, his claws carving a series of deep scratches in the beetle's armoured face. JewelBeemon let out a roar of rage and lashed out with his spear as green ichor sprayed from his cheek, the blade striking home with an ear-piercing screech.

Ryo let out a roar of denial as his partner fell from the sky, JewelBeemon's spear protruding from his chest just below his right shoulder. The dragon hit the ground with an earth-shaking thud that kicked up a cloud of dust over ten metres wide. As the dust settled, JewelBeemon summoned his spear back to him with a wave of his hand, the blade tearing free in a spray of crimson blood.

"You were a worthy foe," the insect conceded and bowed in mid-air. "But you were a fool to refuse aid where it was offered. Goodbye, Cyberdramon."

* * *

"Finally!"Renamon growled to herself as the last of the Snimon decoys fell to her Power Paw attack. She turned and began to make her way quickly toward the main battle, Andromon close behind her. _Now we can get to the __**real-**_

The kitsune gasped in shock and fell to her knees as she felt a presence tugging at her mind. A wave of emotions and sensations other than her own washed over the Digimon as a connection was established with her mind – emotions and sensations that quickly receded as a familiar voice spoke out within her mind.

"_Renamon?"_

* * *

"_Rika!" _Renamon's jubilant voice came through the newly-restored mental link. _"Are you okay? What happened to you?"_

"_I'll explain later," _she promised the kitsune as she drew a card that quickly flashed blue. _"But first, are you ready to do some exterminating?"_

"_More than you could ever imagine."_

* * *

Rapidmon let out a long groan as he fell to the floor, a long groove melted across his chest where he had been struck by an Okuwamon's energy beam attack. The stag beetle had snuck up on him while he had been moving in for an attack run on a Kuwagamon, and only his cat-like reflexes had saved him from being torn in two by the sneak attack. The rabbit leapt back into the air with another groan and took aim with his arm-mounted missile launchers, only to be knocked back to the ground by a volley of crescent-shaped energy waves fired by a quartet of Snimon.

"No fair!" he complained as his Tamer slashed a Seed of Health and a Target Lock card. "**Rapid Fire!**"

The Snimon were quickly shredded as they were each struck by one of Rapidmon's guided missiles. The cyborg leapt into the air as the Okuwamon moved in again, barely dodging a pair of slashing claws as they arced towards his head. He fired off another volley of missiles, only for the grey beetle to knock them out of the air with another swipe of its claws.

"**Destructive Impulse!**" the Okuwamon shrieked in reply, firing a beam of crimson energy at point blank range. Rapidmon dodged to his right – the only direction available to him thanks to an unfortunately-placed tree – and was met by a ferocious sweep of his opponent's claws that sent him crashing straight through said tree. The rabbit landed with a grunt of pain, letting out another grunt as the Okuwamon pounced on him, pinning him to the ground with one of its enormous clawed forelegs. Rapidmon vaguely heard Henry calling his name in horror as his foe began to speak.

"For the Sovereign!" Okuwamon spat, an approximation of a feral grin splitting its features as it raised its claws for the death blow.

A grin that quickly morphed into a look of shock and horror as the beetle was engulfed in a blazing torrent of crimson energy. A tortured scream tore from the insect's mouth as the energy beam disintegrated hard armour and soft flesh, tearing them away like layers of an onion until there was nothing left but data. Rapidmon lay there in shock for several seconds before his senses returned to him.

_That looked like… _he thought groggily as he looked around to the source of the attack, his confusion deepening as he tried to comprehend what he saw.

"**Radiation Blade!**" Takato and WarGrowlmon called out as one, the cybernetic dinosaur's arm blades beginning to glow with blue energy. The Digimon and his Tamer mirrored each other's actions perfectly, Takato lashing out with his left arm as WarGrowlmon did the same. A Kuwagamon let out an ear-piercing shriek as it was bisected by the attack, another of the beetles letting out a sickening gurgle as it was decapitated by the cyborg's right arm blade.

_That's…that's impossible! _Rapidmon gasped mentally. _Is Takatomon…controlling WarGrowlmon? No, it's more like…like they're fighting with one mind._

"Can you stand?" WarGrowlmon asked him as he approached, the rabbit noting with interest that Takato did not speak with his partner.

"Yeah, I think so," Rapidmon replied as he rose slowly into the air, crashing back to the ground as one of his engines died with a spluttering cough. "Or maybe not…Henry? A little help here?"

"**Digi-Modify! Seed of Health activate!**" the boy shouted in reply, running over to his partner as white glow washed across his armour, sealing the cracks and tears. "Rapidmon, are you okay?"

"You think some big bug could take me down? I had him right where I wanted him!" the rabbit joked. "Thanks for the help, by the way."

"Yeah, we really owe you guys!" Henry added. "So, where did you come from? Is Rika okay?"

"She's fine and yes, she's here with us. No time to explain the rest," Takato replied.

"So, how did you take down an Okuwamon in one shot?" Rapidmon asked as he rolled his shoulders experimentally.

"We followed some sage advice…" Takato replied with a cheesy grin.

"Why do I get the feeling Takatomon just made a _really _bad pun?"

"Rapidmon…"

* * *

Leomon was in trouble and he knew it. When the enemy reinforcements had appeared, he had charged at the nearest group of Snimon and began laying into them. He had managed to take down five of them with help from MarineAngemon's protective shields before he ran into trouble – a trio of Kuwagamon had slipped behind him. The lion was forced onto the defensive, and even MarineAngemon's formidable shields could not protect him for long against the beetles' furious assault. As one of the Kuwagamon landed a solid blow on the shield-bubble, MarineAngemon let out a defeated sigh and collapsed into his Tamer's arms, the heart-shaped bubble disappearing with an audible 'pop'. Jeri could only watch on in horror as her partner was knocked to the ground by the enormous insects, his sword flying from his grasp and leaving him unable to defend against the assault.

_Oh, gods…please don't let him die! Please don't let him-_

"**Talisman of Light!**" a voice roared and the three Kuwagamon looked up just in time to see a beam of brilliant white light tearing towards them. It was the last thing they ever saw.

"What the…?" Jeri mumbled in shock as she turned to see Taomon hovering in mid-air a few metres away.

"You didn't think I'd miss this fight, did you?" a voice called out from behind the girl and she turned again, an overwhelming sense of joy flooding her as she recognized the speaker.

"RIKA!" Jeri squealed and enveloped the taller girl in a crushing hug, ignoring her growled protests. "I can't believe you're okay! When you got sucked into the data stream, we thought…"

"Nice to know you have so much confidence in my abilities," the redhead grumbled and shook the brunette off.

* * *

"**Digi-Modify! Rock Armour activate!**" Ryo shouted in desperation as JewelBeemon's spear descended towards his partner's vulnerable neck. The fiery red blade glanced off of the newly-petrified flesh and the insect turned to the boy with a look of pure rage. _That's nothing compared to what Cyberdramon's probably feeling… _Ryo thought with a wince.

Before JewelBeemon could speak, a loud crack resounded across the battlefield. The stone prison around Cyberdramon began to quiver as fissures appeared in its surface, a deafening roar assaulting the ears of all nearby as the shell shattered, releasing its furious captive. The dragon fixed his Tamer with a furious glare as he stomped across the clearing towards him.

"I told you not to interfere…" he growled, the boy merely glaring back unafraid. "This is my perfect battle! My worthy opponent!"

"Yeah, and I don't care," Ryo snorted and clenched his fists. "Don't you get it yet? Not after all these months? We're partners! Let me help you!"

"I don't need your help!"

"No, you don't _want_ it. There's a difference," Ryo snapped, then switched to a pleading tone. "Cyberdramon, please. I…I don't want to lose you. Let me help you fight, help you become stronger. We're a team."

"ENOUGH!" JewelBeemon roared and brandished his spear. "If your _human _cannot control himself, I shall have to remove him from this battle!"

The beetle leapt into the air, flying towards Ryo with his spear pointed at the boy's heart. Cyberdramon span around and lashed out with his claws, splintering the wooden haft of the spear like a matchstick and sending its wielder crashing to the ground.

"Do not. Touch. My Tamer!" the dragon roared and leapt into the battle with renewed fury.

* * *

"ATTACK!" Takato and WarGrowlmon roared as one as the dinosaur, along with Rapidmon, Andromon and MachGaogamon, charged headlong into a cluster of insect Digimon led by four Okuwamon. Cam, Kazu, Andromon and MachGaogamon had regrouped with the other two boys and their partners after they had helped take down the Okuwamon the werewolf was struggling against. After a brief explanation from Takato of the source of his newfound power, the trio of Tamers and Digimon had launched back into the fight with new vigour.

A volley of pink energy waves and red energy beams tore out from the insect horde towards the advancing Digimon. Rapidmon and MachGaogamon dodged the attacks with incredible agility, while WarGrowlmon simply allowed most of them to glance off of his thick armour. The enormous dinosaur planted his feet firmly against the ground, a red glow gathering around the barrels of his chest cannons as he took aim at the centre of the enemy formation.

"**Atomic Blaster!**" he and his Tamer roared in unison, sending twin beams of red energy thundering towards the enemy lines. The attack cut a swathe through the insects, incinerating half a dozen Snimon and a pair of Kuwagamon, the Okuwamon somehow managing to avoid the energy beams.

The volume of fire coming from the enemy lines was reduced slightly, but Rapidmon still had to struggle to dodge the mass of energy blasts. Without Henry's assistance he would have never had a chance. The boy's movements were much less exaggerated than Takato's, a twitch of his eyes all that was necessary to initiate a jink or roll. Through excellent planning or sheer luck, one of the volleys that tore outward from the insect horde left Rapidmon no room to dodge either upwards or to his sides. The two partners spotted the solution to their dilemma simultaneously and as Henry flicked his eyes toward the floor, Rapidmon rolled 180 degrees and jinked down toward the floor, gunning his engines as he did so.

The rabbit slammed into the ground, passing under the volley of fire with engines screaming as he skidded along on his back at insane speed. As Rapidmon streaked past the frontline of Snimon (showering them with mud as he passed) he spread his arms out to his sides and pressed his feet together, a glowing red point of energy appearing at the end of his arms and feet.

"**Tri-Beam!**" he and Henry called out, the points joining together and emitting a triangular beam of pale scarlet energy as Rapidmon passed between the legs of a confused Okuwamon.

The stag beetle screamed in pain as the energy beam slammed into its underbelly, tearing through the hard exoskeleton and flash-frying the soft innards. The eviscerated insect fell to its knees with a last gurgling groan before disintegrating into data as Rapidmon soared into the sky above the horde.

MachGaogamon, meanwhile, was more concerned with taking down the smaller members of the enemy force. With a brief hand-flick from his Tamer he rotated his engine nozzles, sending him arcing towards the enemy force's left flank. The werewolf turned sharply as he drew level with the enemy frontlines and activated his arm cannons.

"**Howling Cannon!**" Cam and MachGaogamon howled as one, a sonic wave blasting from the twin barrels and tearing into the enemy force. Half a dozen Snimon simply shattered into data, while several more were sent flying several metres through the air. The werewolf executed another high-speed turn, flying straight at a Kuwagamon.

"**Winning Knuckle!**"

* * *

"**Talisman Star!**" Taomon called, summoning an oversized throwing star made up of mystical red symbols and throwing it in a boomerang arc. The star tore through a pair of Snimon and sliced one of the pincers from a Kuwagamon before returning to the kitsune's hand.

"**Beast Sword!**" Leomon roared and lashed out with his flame-coated blade, removing the wounded beetle's legs before plunging his sword straight through its skull.

"Good job Leomon!" Jeri cheered, receiving a small smile from her partner in response. Rika merely gave Taomon a brief nod, the vulpine Digimon not needing anything else in the way of praise.

The two Digimon and their Tamers (along with Kenta and MarineAngemon) were protecting the flank of their friends who were involved in the main battle closer to the portal. So far their job had been relatively easy, with only a handful of the enemy's weaker troops trying to break through the defence lines and outflank the Tamers' main force.

That was about to change.

"**Destructive Impulse!**" two crazed voices roared in unison, a pair of red energy beams slamming into Taomon's hastily-erected shield. The kitsune and her allies turned to see a pair of Okuwamon charging towards them with a deafening battle cry.

"**Thousand Spells!**" Taomon cried in desperation, using her spell papers to try and web the beetles' legs together. They were undaunted by the attack, however, their enormously powerful leg muscles snapping the magical cords like cheap string.

The Tamed Digimon had no further chance to attack before their opponents were upon them. Leomon was stunned and thrown to the ground by a vicious headbutt, while Taomon barely dodged a slice of the other beetle's claws. As the lion struggled to get back to his feet he was struck by a second attack that knocked him unconscious, leaving him vulnerable to his enemy's attacks. Taomon saw her comrade's predicament and leapt to his defence, summoning a shield around both of them as the Okuwamon moved in for the kill with his massive jaws. The beetle screeched in anger as its teeth met the transparent bubble and it began attacking the shield furiously. When the insect's companion realized that its own prey was also inside the shield it joined the attempt to breach the bubble.

"Leomon!" Jeri cried out in horror as the two Digimon were surrounded and trapped within the bubble.

"Come one…come on…" Rika muttered to herself as she searched desperately for a card that would help her partner. _There has to be something I can do! I'm letting myself drop as far into my bond with her as I can, but nothing different is happening! She's not getting any stronger!_

"_Rika…" _the pained voice of Taomon filtered through their mental link. _"I cannot hold this shield…much longer…"_

"_Keep trying, Taomon!" _the girl begged as she watched the shield bubble shrink in size. _"I'll get help! You have to keep fighting, I can't lose you!"_

"_I do not think…there is anything more…that I can do…" _the kitsune gasped. _"The others are…too busy with their…own battles. This may be…the end f-"_

"_Don't talk like that!" _the redhead interrupted, fighting to hold back her tears. _"We can win if we work together! Why isn't Sage's stupid bond working? Our minds are linked more than anybody else here!"_

"_H-heart…" _Taomon croaked as her shield shrank again and she fell to her knees. _"Our hearts…"_

"_What?" _Rika asked in confusion, her eyes widening in horror as the shield began to flicker.

"_Goodbye, Rika…you…completed me…"_

"TAOMON!"

* * *

Taomon's eyes snapped open as her partner's cry resounded across the battlefield. Her mind was flooded with anguish as her vision blurred and refocused, a second view appearing overlaid on her own like a reflection in clear glass. The kitsune felt new strength returning to her limbs as her shield solidified and stopped shrinking. Her eyes blazed with fire as a pair of spell papers appeared in her hands and began to glow white. A triumphant roar left the vixen's lips as she clapped her hands together above her head and allowed her shield to fall.

"**TALISMAN SPELL!**"

* * *

"**TALISMAN SPELL!**" Rika roared in unison with her partner, nearly making Jeri jump out of her skin. The redhead grinned as an enormous explosion of white light radiated outwards from her partner, seeing the event through both her own eyes and those of Taomon. The explosion catapulted the Okuwamon through the air like ragdolls, the beetles shattering trees and carving trenches in the mud as they landed.

"Rika, what are you…?" Jeri began, flinching as the girl turned to her with glowing eyes.

"We are one."

* * *

Ryo roared in ecstasy as he flew towards JewelBeemon, feeling the wind tearing at his wings and armoured body. Another roar left his lips as he felt his claws tearing through the insectoid commander's armour, ripping a long gash in his stomach.

_They're not my claws… _Ryo thought absent-mindedly as his vision momentarily reverted to the view from his own eyes, then shook his head and re-immersed himself in his bond with Cyberdramon. _The prey is a challenge! How refreshing to have to work for my victory…_

* * *

"**Destructive Imp-**OOF!" the Okuwamon roared as Taomon slammed her paintbrush into its head. The enormous beetle crashed to the ground as the kitsune deftly drew an ornate symbol in mid-air.

"**Talisman of Light!**" Taomon called, the symbol glowing white before unleashing a torrent of blinding light that incinerated the unfortunate insect.

"You will pay…" the remaining Okuwamon snarled as the vulpine Digimon turned to face him.

"In your dreams," she snarled in reply, summoning a pair of red throwing stars. "**Talisman Star!**"

Okuwamon dodged the first star, deflecting the second with a roar of triumph. A roar of "**Thousand Spells!**" and a series of sudden impacts between his shoulder blades told the beetle too late that the attacks had been a decoy and he fell to his knees, a mess of craters decorating the spot where his wings had once been.

"Nighty night, big boy!" Taomon chuckled as her Talisman Stars flew from her hands once again, decapitating the grey insect.

* * *

"**Lightning Blade!**" Andromon roared and lashed out with his energy blade, taking the legs out from under the last Okuwamon in the insect horde. The reverse stroke sliced the monster's skull in two as it fell to the ground, a scream of denial on its lips.

The android glanced around quickly, scanning the area for any enemies. When he detected none in the immediate vicinity, he deactivated his energy blade and looked to his Tamer. Kazu shook his head to try and return his vision to normal, sighing in relief as he did so. The boy had been a little overwhelmed by the view through his partner's eyes, unaccustomed as he was to walking around with a video game-style HUD overlaid on his vision displaying energy levels and speed.

"Why am I so tired?" Cam asked wearily as he slumped against a tree, MachGaogamon de-Digivolving and joining him a second later. "I feel like I just ran a marathon."

"Using the link like that…must require a lot…a lot of energy…" Henry gasped as he fought for breath.

"It is understandable, really," Andromon agreed with a nod. "Our partners were basically sending us energy straight from their own bodies. I would have been surprised if they _weren't_ tired."

"I wouldn't relax yet," Rapidmon warned his friends, pointing high into the sky as he tried and failed to prevent himself from de-Digivolving. "Looks like Cyberdramon's making a new friend."

* * *

"**Cyber Nail!**" Ryo and Cyberdramon roared as one, the dragon slashing his claws through JewelBeemon's right wings and sending the beetle plummeting towards the ground. "**Desolation Claw!**" they roared a second later, unleashing a group of iridescent energy waves that slammed into the wounded insect in mid-air, tearing enormous gouges out of its armour and propelling it towards the ground even faster.

A piercing shriek rose from JewelBeemon as the energy waves tore through the armour on his right arm, severing it just below the shoulder. The scream was cut short as the beetle struck the ground, landing heavily on his right leg, which snapped like a dry twig under the impact. The commander of the devastated insect horde lay there twitching, struggling to rise to his feet as his opponent landed beside him.

"You have…defeated me…" JewelBeemon chuckled, quickly descending into hacking coughs that splattered the muddy ground with green ichor. "I am at…your mercy."

Cyberdramon stood over the broken insect for a few seconds, seeming to ponder his next course of action, before lashing out with his razor-sharp claws and ending the insect's torment.

"You were a worthy foe," he and his Tamer whispered as one.

"We're here!" Takato cheered as they came upon the shores of a small lake, a glowing blue translucent disk of energy floating on a small island at the centre of the water. A strip of land several metres wide connected the shore to the portal, which looked to be over three stories in diameter.


	29. Chapter 29

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile. **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sanctuary**

Sunday 14th November – 12:32p.m.

Digital World, Swamp Level

Ryo let out an exhausted sigh as his odd "hyper-link" with Cyberdramon finally broke off, returning his senses firmly to his own body. Taking a brief look around, the boy nodded in satisfaction as he saw that all of their enemies had been eliminated. A confused frown passed across his face as he saw Takato and Guilmon stood with Kazu, Cam and Henry looking equally exhausted.

_Takato's back? Does that mean that Rika's…_

The boy's expression quickly switched to an exuberant grin as he caught sight of the redhead stood with Jeri, Kenta and MarineAngemon, the latter of whom was currently unleashing a stream of healing bubbles on Leomon's wounds. A flash of light drew his attention to a newly-de-Digivolved Renamon, who made her way over to her Tamer with what looked like a smile, the two standing there in conversation for a few seconds before embracing each other in a sudden hug that left Kenta in open-mouthed shock.

_I always knew she had her softer side… _Ryo chuckled to himself, allowing the partners a few seconds to enjoy their moment before he called out to the girl.

"Hey there Wildcat! Mind if I join in?"

"Bite me, Akiyama!" she snapped in reply, her voice muffled by her partner's fur. A few seconds later, she pulled her face out of the kitsune's shoulder and fixed her nemesis with a glare as he walked slowly towards her.

"Good to have you back, Rika," he said with a genuine smile, knocking her off guard.

"Sarcasm from Mr Perfect?" she snorted and shook her head. "I never thought I'd see _that_ happen…"

"I wasn't being sarcastic," he replied seriously, holding her confused gaze for a few seconds before flashing his trademark perfect grin. "Without you around I was stuck arguing with Kazu, and he doesn't share your razor-sharp wit!"

Rika snorted and shook her head again, apparently satisfied with the boy's answer. Without another word, she turned and began walking back towards the rest of the Tamers.

"Good old Rika," Ryo whispered to himself as he gazed at the swiftly-departing redhead.

"Don't push your luck," Jeri warned him with a brief giggle as she set off after her fried. "Rika may be a little clueless sometimes, but she's not stupid."

Ryo merely nodded and flashed her a tired smile as Kenta watched on oblivious. _I, on the other hand, am not so oblivious, _the older boy thought and leaned in to whisper to Kenta as he walked past.

"You sure picked a good one there," he chuckled as the green-haired boy's face turned red with embarrassment. "A word of warning, though – don't try sneaking off when it's my turn on watch if you don't want to be noticed."

* * *

"Rika, welcome back!" Cam shouted to the redhead as she approached the main body of Tamers and Digimon. "So, did you and Takato have fun while you were stuck out in the wilderness, all alone…?"

"Do you _want _me to break your arm?" She asked with a cold smirk, wiping the suggestive grin off of the tall boy's face. "And don't even start, Rabbitmon."

"Me?" Terriermon asked innocently. "What makes you think that little old me would _ever _mock you?"

"Experience?" Gaomon suggested with a nod to the redhead. "Good to see you again Rika, Takato. So, where have you been?"

"It's a long story," Rika replied with a sideways glance at Kazu, who was currently looking at the floor sheepishly. _Is that…does Kazu have a black eye? _she asked herself with a tiny smirk. _I'll have to ask Jeri who to give the medal to…_

"We should probably get moving," Takato suggested as he pulled himself to his feet. "We know a safe place where we can rest for the night. I'll tell you about it on the way."

"Then let's go," Cyberdramon growled from behind the group, Ryo stood by his side. "We should try to be clear of here before more of Zhuqiaomon's minions show up."

* * *

Forest Level, Sage's Valley – 5:01p.m.

"No way…" Kenta breathed as the Tamers passed through the entrance to Sage's Valley and were greeted by the breathtaking view of the perfect landscape.

"It's…it's beautiful…" Jeri whispered, subconsciously gripping his hand in her own. The brunette let go as soon as she realized what she had been doing, but fortunately, nobody apart from Rika, Renamon, Leomon and MarineAngemon (who had all been let in on the secret) had noticed.

"Beautiful doesn't begin to describe it," Ryo muttered as he gazed around at the verdant forest and breathtaking waterfall.

"It would certainly make for a pleasant hunting environment," Cyberdramon growled, drawing a surprised look from those Tamers and Digimon who dared to do so.

"Somebody's awfully talkative today," Gaomon remarked with a small grin.

"So, where's this Sage guy?" Kazu asked as he looked around, seeing no sign of the odd Digimon.

"Right here," a baritone voice replied with a hint of amusement as the hooded Digimon emerged from the forest. "You arrived earlier than I expected. Should I assume that your battle went well?"

"We kicked some butt, took some names – overall I'd say it went pretty awesome!" Terriermon cheered from atop his exhausted Tamer's head.

"You could have warned us using our bonds like that would tire us out so much," Rika growled, glaring tiredly at the dark-skinned figure from atop Kyubimon's back.

"I would have done if I had known it would happen," Sage responded with a wide grin. "But that's enough chatting! Let's get you something to eat."

* * *

After the mile-long walk down the path to Sage's Tree-house, the Tamers and Digimon sat down to a lavishly-prepared meal consisting of various meats, fishes and vegetables. The general atmosphere in the massive dining hall was overwhelmingly positive, the children and their partners in an excellent mood despite their exhaustion. Rika and Kazu, however, were pointedly not talking to each other, as were Kazu and Ryo. As the last of them finished their meal, the children and their broke up into small groups and began talking amongst themselves. Kazu dragged a reluctant Kenta away from his secret girlfriend to talk to him, Jeri and Leomon moving towards Rika and Renamon. Takato, Cam, Gaomon, Henry, Terriermon and Ryo formed into another group, seating themselves on a rug in front of the roaring fire. Guilmon and MarineAngemon lay down next to them, loud snores quickly emerging from their forms as they drifted into sleep. Meanwhile, Cyberdramon and Andromon (the latter of who still hadn't de-Digivolved) went outside for a breath of fresh air and some exercise.

* * *

"So, Kazu, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Kenta asked as he glanced at the entrance to the tree-house, desperate to return to Jeri.

"It's, uh…it's about Rika…" the taller boy said quietly. "I feel kinda…_really _bad about what I said to her and I, uh…don't know what to do."

"Oh, come on Kazu!" Kenta complained, eagerness to get back to his girlfriend's side making him much more terse than usual. "You need to man up and apologize to her!"

"Yeah, but how?"

"You just walk up to her and tell her you're sorry, you didn't mean what you said and ask her to forgive you. It's simple!"

"Really? Thanks, chumley!" Kazu cheered and clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Where would I be without you?"

"Do you _really _want me to answer that?"

* * *

"So, you and Kenta," Rika said quietly with a small smirk, enjoying her friend's discomfort. "You finally got together."

"Um, I thought you didn't go for all the 'girl talk'…" Jeri mumbled, blushing lightly.

"Normally I don't, but it's too much fun watching you squirm."

"Yeah, well…" the brunette's mouth snapped shut quickly as she saw Kazu approaching them hesitantly.

"Uh, h-hey Jeri, hey R-Rika," the boy stammered nervously, wincing as the redhead fixed him with her Number One Death Glare.

"What do you want?" she spat, using every ounce of her self-control not to leap on him and start breaking bones.

"I, uh…I just wanted to, um…" he mumbled, looking at the floor before meeting the girl's glare with a guilty look. "I wanted to say sorry for what happened back in the jungle. I mean, I was angry and I just said the first thing that came to mind – I felt so bad about it afterwards and I…I wanted you to know I didn't mean it."

Rika's glare softened slightly, downgrading to something closer to the 'normal' glare she used on the boy.

"So, uh…can you ever forgive me? I mean, I don't blame you if you can't, and I don't really deserve it, but-"

"No," the redhead said tersely, drawing a small gasp from Jeri and a sad shake of the head from Leomon. "At least, not yet. I might be able to forgive you one day, but…"

"Okay," Kazu nodded. "Thanks, Rika. I, uh…I'm sorry."

"One last thing," the girl called as he turned and began to walk away. "Who was it that gave you the black eye?"

"Uh, well, after you left I kinda thanked Ryo for stopping you from hitting me and…called you a psycho bitch, so he…um…"

"_Ryo _hit you? Ryo Akiyama, Mr Perfect – that Ryo?" Rika asked incredulously, a frown crossing her features as the boy nodded. As Kazu walked away, Rika glared out into the night, her face twisted into a mask of fury. "What the hell is wrong with Akiyama? Does he think I can't fight my own battles or something?"

The girl was so absorbed in her own outrage that she didn't see the odd look that flashed across Jeri's face – a look that said she knew the answer to all of those questions. Somebody else, however, did notice – a certain Digimon who was watching from across the room and possessed large enough ears to overhear the entire conversation.

_Interesting… _Terriermon thought as he switched his gaze between Jeri, Rika and Ryo. _**Very **__interesting… _

* * *

About half an hour later, Takato had managed to convince Sage to retell the story of Nova Ragnarök for the benefit of the rest of the group, his own recollection of it being more than a little confused. As the hooded Digimon spoke, the Tamers and Digimon listened intently, Ryo and Henry obviously desperate to begin questioning him on certain aspects of the story. Most of their questions were similar to the ones asked by Rika, Takato and Guilmon, but some of them were a little more original.

* * *

"So, what happened to this X-Virus when Yggdrasil died?" Henry asked, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow.

"The destruction of Yggdrasil caused the X-Virus to deactivate," Sage replied. "The X-Antibody, however, is another matter. It still exists in many Digimon in varying levels of concentration. Andromon, for example, holds a rather high level of it."

"I do?" the android asked with a puzzled look. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"The X-Antibody causes a low level of mutation in a Digimon when it is present in high concentrations. Your Lightning Blade attack, for example, is very different to that of other Andromon. The structure of your missile launchers and the missiles themselves also show some slight variation. Gaomon also possesses a slightly-lower concentration of the antibody that only manifests itself at higher levels of Digivolution, and even then with only minor effects."

"Are there any dangers to having the X-Antibody?" Cam asked with a concerned glance at his partner.

"None at all. There are occasionally some advantages to carrying X, but mostly it has very little effect on a Digimon's life."

"Where did the antibody come from?" This was Ryo.

"We have no idea, but as with all things of this nature, there are theories. Some say Alphamon introduced it into the Digimon population, others that it was created by the last shreds of Yggdrasil's sanity as they tried to reassert themselves. Most tend to believe that it was a chance code mutation, however, as do I."

"Um, Sage?" Jeri began nervously. "What did you say that thing Zhuqiaomon used to make his army was called?"

"The Catalyst of Digivolution, but most people just referred to it as the Catalyst," the hooded Digimon replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Um, it's probably nothing, but when me and Leomon were being chased by Caturamon, he said something about 'the Catalyst is ours, now' and 'you can't have him back'."

"Pipipuhpipuhpipipipuhpi?" MarineAngemon squeaked as he floated into the air above his Tamer's shoulder.

"You think?" the green-haired boy asked with a frown. "I mean it's possible, but-"

"You wanna try filling the rest of us in?" Rika grumbled at the boy.

"Oh, right, sorry," Kenta replied sheepishly. "MarineAngemon was suggesting that when Caturamon was talking about the Catalyst, he could have been referring to Calumon."

"What?" Kazu spluttered and broke into laughter. "That's ridiculous! I mean, the cream puff being the power source of all Digivolution? Gimme a break!"

"What else could he have been talking about?" Leomon asked rhetorically. "The Devas knew that we came to the Digital World looking for Calumon. There is nothing else that I can think of that he could have been referring to."

"And it would explain the enormous power readings we detected when Calumon Bio-emerged," Henry mused as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Fascinating," Sage murmured and mirrored the boy's action. "Where is this 'Calumon' now?"

"He Bio-emerged in England a little while back," Takato explained. "He kind of drifted around the town where we lived and popped up every now and again. Huh, come to think of it I wonder how he's doing. I hope he's okay…"

"He'll be fine," Renamon chuckled. "Rika made her grandmother promise to look after him if he ever came to the house."

"Awww," Ryo sighed with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Does Rika have a soft side after all?"

"Not so soft I couldn't beat you to death with it…" the redhead growled, blushing slightly.

"She didn't deny it," Terriermon noted with a smirk, receiving a knuckle-rap to the head for his efforts.

"Terriermon…"

"I think we should call it a night," Sage suggested, deciding to step in before a certain rabbit ended up in a coma. "I've got rooms set up for you all on the next floor. There are separate ones for the boys and girls, since I'm told that that's apparently the norm in human society."

Kazu had to exercise every ounce of his meagre supply of willpower not to crack a joke as he saw Rika and Takato both flush bright red. _Must…not…make joke…must not…make…joke…_

* * *

Sovereign Level, Zhuqiaomon's Prison – 7:23p.m.

"Antylamon!" Caturamon barked as he approached the larger Digimon, the unconscious form of Suzie clamped none-too-gently in his massive jaws. "This human fainted during its last bonding session. You are to clean it up and ensure it is ready to resume its sessions by tomorrow."

Antylamon was an intimidating, though rather odd figure. She was approximately six metres tall and had the basic shape of a brown-and-white rabbit. Her arms and legs were almost freakishly-long and thin, the former ending in strange, claw-like fingers. Three short, conical horns adorned her forehead and a purple scarf was wrapped around her neck. The rabbit Deva was wearing what appeared to be a pair of baggy purple pants with matching fabric shoes. Her abdomen was encased in strange scale armour made of a red metal, while a white mantle sat on her shoulders.

"What did you do to her?" Antylamon asked, a hint of concern working its way into her voice. The child was quite literally covered in small cuts and bruises, her clothes were ragged and filthy and her right hand was covered with blood.

"It cut itself on a piece of metal in the assault course and fainted when it saw the blood. Filthy, weakling humans…" Caturamon sneered contemptuously.

Antylamon accepted the unconscious form of the girl without comment, suppressing an angry retort as the canine padded away down the long corridor leading to the children's cell. When she was sure her former commander was out of earshot, she muttered to herself under her breath.

"_It _is a she!"

* * *

Antylamon carried the unconscious girl down the long, winding corridors of Zhuqiaomon's prison and set her down in an enormous Roman-style bathhouse, the walls and floors covered with large, dark blue tiles. At the centre of the room was a colossal, square-shaped public bath, several dozen metres wide and five deep. Antylamon clapped her hands twice sharply and the bath was instantly filled with crystal-clear water. Picking Suzie back up, the rabbit climbed into the bath and lowered her charge into the water until it was at neck-level. Before she could begin her task, however, the child began to stir.

"Hmmm…what…?" Suzie mumbled as she slowly came around, frowning in confusion when she realized that she was currently neck-deep in warm water, fully clothed and being held up by an enormous pair of brown-furred hands.

"Hello, little one," Antylamon said gently as she began looking around, letting out a yelp of surprise as the girl somehow managed to slip out of her hands and sink straight to the bottom of the bath. The Deva moved quickly, reaching down to pull a coughing Suzie back above the water level. "You need to be more careful – you could have hurt yourself! What were you doing?"

"Twying to get away fwom you!" the terrified child squeaked in reply as she cowered in the palms of Antylamon's hands. "You'll hurt me! You're one of those bad monsters – the Dee…Day…"

"Devas?" the Digimon asked hesitantly, wincing when she received a firm nod in response to her question. _Is that what the Devas have become known for? The kidnap of innocents? Frightening small children?_

"Um, hewwo?" Suzie called hesitantly and Antylamon realized that she had been stood there in silence for several minutes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she replied and shook her head to clear it of her thoughts. "I…you don't need to be afraid of me, little one. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You…you pwomise?"

"I promise."

"How did I get here?" the little girl asked as she looked around at her surroundings. "This doesn't wook wike the big awena."

"You got a nasty cut on your hand and fainted. Caturamon brought you here to be cleaned up," Antylamon replied softly. "I was going to give you a bath before I sent you back to your…cell. That's what I was doing when you woke up."

"You were giving me a bath…with my cwothes on?"

"Erm, yes," the Deva stammered, her charge's puzzled frown conjuring one onto her own face. "Why, is that not how humans do it?"

"No!" Suzie exclaimed with a firm shake of her head. "We take baths without our cwothes on so they don't get all wet and yucky!"

"Oh, my apologies. Do you want to take them off then?"

"NO!" The child's outraged shriek left Antylamon's ears ringing. "You're not supposed to take off your cwothes when there's other people awound!"

"Right…" the rabbit sighed and shook her head wearily. _Humans are so confusing…_

* * *

Eventually, Suzie and Antylamon came to a compromise: the girls would wash in the Deva-sized sink (approximately the same size as her bathtub at home) while Antylamon stood with her back turned at the far end of the room. This was undoubtedly the best solution, as it would allow Suzie some privacy while avoiding the risk of her drowning in the five-metre deep bath. Eventually, when she was satisfied with her own cleanliness, Suzie towelled off and got dressed, then allowed Antylamon to carry her back to her cell where Sam and Steph were waiting.

The two girls greeted her with tearful relief. They had not seen their fellow captive for more than two days, ever since Caturamon dragged her away for an extended bonding session as punishment for the Steph's defiance. As Antylamon left the trio alone to give them some much-needed rest, she could feel the elder girl's venomous glare boring into her back, sending a shudder of guilt down her spine.

* * *

_Are we really doing the right thing? _Antylamon asked herself as she walked down the long stone corridor leading away from the children's cell. _I know Zhuqiaomon seems to think that the humans are dangerous to us, but is this really necessary? Kidnapping __**children**__?_

"You should keep something in mind, sister," Makuramon chuckled from above the rabbit, and she looked up to see him suspended from a pipe on the ceiling just above her head. "We are Digimon. They are just humans. They are unworthy of your compassion."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Don't lie to me. I know what you're like," the monkey replied as he uncoiled his tail from the pipe, landing gracefully on his fellow Deva's shoulder. "Besides, I can see it in your eyes. You're having doubts about our recent actions, wondering if it's all _really _necessary, if we couldn't maybe leave the humans alone. You're too kind for your own good. Those humans are weak and pathetic, but they are still a threat to us. We need to harness the power available to Tamed Digimon if we are to defend ourselves from their tyranny, and these children are the only way to do that."

"So this has nothing to do with Lord Zhuqiaomon's desire for power, for a weapon to use against the rebels?" Antylamon asked sarcastically.

"That is…an added bonus. The humans are the real threat, however."

"But Zhuqiaomon hates them! His judgement may be-"

"ENOUGH!" Makuramon shrieked. "Zhuqiaomon is our master and god. He is infallible!"

"I know, I was just suggesting that-"

"I know what you were suggesting. If Caturamon still led us, he would have labelled you a traitor and had your head by now! Lucky for you, I am much more merciful." The monkey stood there in silence for several seconds before glaring at Antylamon. "Well? Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Thank you…" the rabbit muttered after a short pause.

"Ah, ah, ah! Is that any way to address your benevolent lord and commander?"

"Thank you, oh wise and benevolent Lord Commander Makuramon."

"Better."

_That stupid chimp has gone mad with power, _Antylamon thought to herself. _Oh, what am I saying? He was mad all along. Zhuqiaomon is clearly __**not **__as__infallible as he would have us think if he was stupid enough to appoint __**him**__ as leader of the Devas!_

* * *

Forest Level, Sage's Tree – 8:11p.m.

_Excellent… _Terriermon thought with a mental chuckle as Jeri finally moved away from Rika, moving towards the balcony to get some fresh air. _Now's my chance to do a little intelligence gathering!_

The rabbit crept away from his Tamer as the boy was dragged into an in-depth debate with Ryo about tactics in the Digimon card game, making his way quietly towards the balcony. A grin appeared on the little Digimon's face as he saw that Jeri was alone, Leomon having gone to join Cyberdramon and Andromon in their exercises.

"Hey, Jeri!" Terriermon called and leapt up onto the balcony handrail beside the girl.

"Oh, hi Terriermon," she replied cheerfully as she looked out over the valley, which was illuminated only by the light coming from the strange Earth in the sky.

"Boy, it sure is nice to have some peace and quiet, huh?" he said conversationally.

"Yeah, the last few days have been kinda…"

"Tough?"

"I was going to say 'busy', but yeah," the brunette giggled as she gazed up at the sky. "There's been so much going on…"

"Yeah, I mean, that fight between Rika and Kazu was bad enough without her and Takatomon disappearing afterwards."

"Yeah, that was…horrible. I don't know why they keep doing that – both of them always say things they end up regretting."

"Heh, I'm pretty sure Kazu regretted it the most this time," Terriermon chuckled, a mischievous glint appearing in his eye. "I mean, I never expected Ryo to actually hit him!"

"Yeah, me neither…" Jeri replied, shifting uncomfortably.

_She's a worse liar than Takatomon! This is gonna be a piece of cake…_

"I wonder why he did it," the rabbit said thoughtfully. "I mean, I know why he _did_ it, but I wonder why he reacted so strongly…"

"Terriermon…" a voice called out in a cautionary tone from behind the small Digimon and he turned to see his Tamer stood in the doorway. "What are you up to?"

"What? I'm just making conversation!"

"Well, I think you should change the subject," Henry said forcefully.

"Oh, momentai already! You have to admit it's pretty weird," Terriermon replied, turning back to face out toward the valley but keeping his eyes on Jeri. "I mean, anyone else would think Ryo was _in love _with her…"

Jeri's startled, panicked look told the rabbit all he needed to know.

* * *

"Terriermon, I cannot believe you!" Henry berated his partner as quietly as he could. He had dragged Terriermon up into the bedroom reserved for the male Tamers and Digimon so that he could rebuke him without announcing Ryo's feelings for a certain redhead to the whole world.

"What? This is perfect blackmail material!"

"Don't you dare," the boy growled. "I promised Jeri that I wouldn't let you tell anyone about this."

"Oh, come on! You can't expect me to keep this a secret forever, can you?" the rabbit complained. "Oh, the look on Rika's face when she finds out…"

"If you tell anybody, I'm making you Suzie's Christmas present for this year. Along with a full set of bright pink Terriermon-sized doll's clothes."

"You wouldn't…" Terriermon gasped with a horrified look.

"I'll handpick the tutu myself," his Tamer promised.

"You…have a deal…"

* * *

Sovereign Level, Zhuqiaomon's Palace – 8:57p.m.

"You summoned me, my lord?" Antylamon called as she bowed before the colossal figure of Zhuqiaomon.

"I did," the phoenix replied, the wall of heat emanating from his body intensifying ever so slightly. "Makuramon came to see me earlier."

Antylamon didn't reply, instead allowing the Sovereign to continue with his monologue.

"He told me that you were having doubts about our recent actions, about whether it was necessary to defend ourselves from the humans. He said that he tried to set you straight, but that my divine input may be necessary. Is this true?"

"It is, my lord," the rabbit replied, continuing hastily when she felt Zhuqiaomon's heat aura rise dramatically in temperature. "But the Lord Commander's words made me think and I realized the folly of my previous words and thoughts. I was wrong to doubt you, my lord, and I beg your forgiveness."

"The 'Lord Commander'? Did Makuramon tell you to call him that?" the phoenix growled angrily, receiving a quick reply in the affirmative from his servant. "Such hubris from a mere underling…I shall have to reprimand Makuramon for this."

"If my lord deems it necessary."

"I do. Now, Antylamon, you are free to go. Let it not be said that the divine judgement of the Lord Zhuqiaomon is unmerciful!"

"My eternal gratitude, oh gracious lord," the Deva thanked the Sovereign, a troubled frown crossing her face as she turned her back on him.

_I lied to him, _she thought with a sense of growing confusion. _I lied to him and_ _he did not know. He did not notice that I still had doubts…how is that possible? He is supposed to be all-seeing and all-knowing. Unless…_

_Could Zhuqiaomon be mortal?_

* * *

Monday 15th November – 9:12 a.m.

Forest Level

The Tamers and their partners stood assembled at the mouth of a cave in the middle of the forest a few miles away from Sage's valley, Sage himself stood just behind them. The hooded Digimon had guided them to the cave when he discovered the Tamers' plan to split up, saying that it was a secret shortcut to the Hub Level that would bring them out very close to the city of Gear. According to Sage, Gear was a technological hub and the most likely place for them to find the items and expertise necessary to upgrade the D-Comms. Unfortunately, it was also crawling with Zhuqiaomon's spies.

"Are you sure you don't want to switch teams with me and Gaomon?" Cam whispered to Rika as their hooded guide launched into a detailed set of directions to the Sovereign Level. "I mean, you're missing out on a couple of days away from Kazu and Ryo."

"We already went through this, flyboy," the redhead muttered. "I don't trust Cyberdramon not to go on another rampage and I'd rather be there to stop him. Taomon's the best candidate for the job anyway."

"Yeah, but he seems to have…I don't know, mellowed out since the fight yesterday. Maybe the whole link thing with Ryo sorted him out a little."

"I doubt it."

Rika refused to say any more on the matter and Cam eventually let it drop. A few seconds later, Sage finished his directions and the boy began saying his goodbyes along with the rest of the scouting party. As the four Tamers and their partners faded into the distance, Sage turned to the remaining members of the group.

"Now, about your trip to Gear," he began, rubbing his hands together with a small grin. "Like I said before, Gear is on the southern edge of the Hub and is the closest city to Zhuqiaomon's realm. It is therefore crawling with his spies and you will all be captured or killed if you are seen in the city. You probably won't make it past the gates."

"Uh, so how are we meant to get in?" Takato asked with a worried frown.

"With these," the hooded Digimon replied, pulling a pair of backpacks that were practically as big as him seemingly out of nowhere. "Gotta love these Hammerspace pockets…"

"How are backpacks supposed to help us?" Kazu asked with a smirk. "I don't think they're gonna be much use unless you expect us to get inside them."

"I do," Sage replied, his grin widening as he nodded toward Andromon (who appeared to be stuck in his Ultimate form for the foreseeable future). "Guardromon and Andromon are both very common Digimon in Gear. Andromon can take one backpack, which should be large enough to fit two humans and a Digimon inside, and enter the city posing as a traveller."

"What about the other backpack?" Guilmon asked.

"That will be up to you. Cyberdramon will have to be the one to carry it, as he will obviously be unable to fit in one of these bags. There is a slight problem in that there are not many Cyberdramon around and the identities of the Tamed Digimon are widely known. You are likely to be stopped when you attempt to gain entry to the city."

"What if I de-Digivolve to my Champion form?" the dragon suggested.

"You can do that?"

"Yeah," his Tamer nodded. "I can use an Alias card to turn him into Monodramon and then Digivolve him to Strikedramon. He should be able to hold that form for a couple of days before he has to re-Digivolve to Cyberdramon."

"That may work," Sage mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Strikedramon are still rare, but even I was unaware that it was possible for Cyberdramon to de-Digivolve using a modify card. It is unlikely that our enemies know of this ability either."

"It's settled then," Takato said with a confident grin. "So, how do we get to Gear?"

"Follow this cave until you reach a fork and turn left. After that, just keep going straight until you reach the portal. It'll bring you out within sight of Gear, so you can just follow your eyes from there," the hooded Digimon replied and turned to walk back to his valley. "Oh, I almost forgot," he added, looking back over his shoulder at the group of humans and Digimon. "When you get to Gear, you will be contacted by a Hawkmon. He is an ally of mine who will direct you towards a safe place to stay."

"Right, look out for Hawkmon, do what he says. Got it," the begoggled Tamer nodded. "Thanks for everything, Sage!"

"Especially the food!" Guilmon added dreamily, his eyes glazing over and drool seeping from his mouth as he remembered the feast of the previous evening.

"As I told you before, it is no problem. Feel free to return if you need a place to stay, or hide out from angry Devas – or even just for a social call! Not that that ever happens in the Digital World…"

The eccentric old Digimon wandered off down the long, winding path, muttering to himself about "the state of the world today" among other things. When he had finally receded into the distance, Ryo shook his head with a short chuckle and pointed toward the cave mouth with his thumb.

"Shall we?"

* * *

"You okay?" Kenta asked Jeri, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. The two Tamers were sat on Leomon's shoulders, their hands entwined behind the concealing bulk of his lustrous mane. "You look a little…zoned out."

"Yeah…" the brunette replied quietly, gazing up at the sky. "I guess I'm a little worried about the others. I mean, they're heading into a city full of Zhuqiaomon's spies. They could be captured, or even…worse…"

"Don't worry about it," her boyfriend reassured her. "They've got four Digimon who are either at or can Digivolve to Ultimate stage. Plus, they have Rika and Ryo – probably the best tacticians in the world when it comes to Digimon. They'll be fine."

"I guess…"

"And besides, we've got the harder job," Leomon pointed out with a wry grin. "We have to infiltrate the territory of the Digimon Sovereign, scout out one of his most secure fortresses and not let ourselves be detected by his endless armies of fanatical followers. Ryo and the others face a walk in the park compared to us."

"Great, now _I'm _nervous…" Kenta muttered half-sarcastically.

"We'll be fine," Jeri reassured him, checking to make sure nobody was watching before leaning in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "I won't let them hurt you."

"Uh, isn't it supposed to be me that says that to you?"

"If Rika was here, she'd tear your head off for making such a sexist comment," Leomon chuckled.

"She could try…" Jeri growled, doing her best impression of the redhead's voice.

"Sometimes I think you two spend too much time together…" Kenta sighed in mock exasperation, earning a small giggle from the brunette.

* * *

Hub Level – 9:20a.m.

"Sage sure wasn't kidding when he said we'd come out within sight of Gear…" Ryo joked with his trademark grin.

"You can say that again," Takato mumbled as he gazed down on the city. The portal from the Forest Level had brought them out on a plateau at the top of a gigantic, heavily-wooded mountain that provided them with a clear view of Gear, along with a substantial chunk of the surrounding terrain.

"My, what an ugly place," Renamon remarked with a frown as she too gazed down on the digital metropolis.

Her assessment was accurate. Gear was primarily comprised of blocky, grey, industrial-style buildings that varied in size from a few stories tall to enormous skyscrapers that rivalled anything built by humans. The city centre covered an enormous area, long roads lined with buildings stretching out into the surrounding countryside like the spreading tendrils of some malignant disease.

"You should probably get into the backpacks while we're up here and out of sight," Andromon suggested. "There's a sentence I never expected to say…"

"He's right," Kazu agreed. "So…who gets in which backpack?"

"We should all try to stay with our Digimon – you go with Andromon and I'll stick with Strikedramon," Ryo said as he slashed an Alias card, Cyberdramon de-Digivolving in a flash of light to the small, purple form of Monodramon. One Digivolution card later and the dragon was encased in a blue-black data sphere, which exploded to reveal the substantially-taller Strikedramon.

Strikedramon was about the same size as Cyberdramon, but they shared few similarities beyond that. Strikedramon's skin was purple across most of his body, except for a band of white running from his stomach to his lower jaw, which was adorned with an intricate, red tribal-pattern tattoo. The dragon wore a pair of baggy green trousers with a black leather belt, two more belts wrapped around his upper left thigh in a manner reminiscent of Rika's habitual attire. Studded metal plates protected his hips, shoulders, hands and feet, with similar studded metal rings protecting his ankles and upper arms. A strange metal helmet with a single, blade-like horn extending back behind it covered the upper half of his face, a mane of shaggy orange hair cascading out from under the helmet down to his lower back.

"Cool…" Takato breathed as the dragon rolled his shoulders, Kazu settling for a long, appreciative whistle.

"It has been a while since I adopted this form," Strikedramon growled and cracked his knuckles loudly. "I shall have to get used to it again."

"Uh, back to the issue of the backpacks?" Kazu called hesitantly. "I kinda took it as a given that I'd be staying with Andromon. What I meant was, who do Rika and Takato want to go with?"

"Hmmm…" Rika mumbled as she considered her options. _Mr Perfect or Kazu…who am I less likely to kill? _"Talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place…Gogglehead, you got any preference?"

"Uh, nope."

"Hmmm…" she mumbled again, a look of intense concentration crossing her features. "Fine, I'll go with Akiyama. And don't look so smug," she sighed as a grin crossed the older boy's face. "It's just that I trust you to keep your hands to yourself."

"Hey!" Kazu shouted indignantly. "When did I ever-"

"Remember Jeri's friend Ayaka?"

"That was an accident!" the visor-wearing Tamer protested. "I was doing the long jump and I fell over. She just happened to…be in the way…and how did you know about that?"

"Leomon can be such an _awful _gossip…" Renamon chuckled with a small smirk.


	30. Chapter 30

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: Infiltration**

Monday 15th November – 9:56a.m.

Digital World, Hub Level, Outskirts of Gear

"_So much for 'never again'…" _Viximon grumbled telepathically as she shifted uncomfortably in her Tamer's arms.

"_Hang in there, we should be out of here soon," _Rika reassured her, scratching the vixen gently behind the ears.

The two partners (along with an oblivious Ryo) were currently crammed into the oversized backpack being carried by Strikedramon. A mildly-claustrophobic Viximon – who had de-Digivolved to conserve space – was hugged tight against the girl's chest, Rika herself in a position that was (in her eyes at least) even less agreeable. Due to severe space limitations, the only way that all three of them were able to fit into the backpack had been for the girl to sit on Ryo's knee.

"Akiyama…" the redhead growled quietly but menacingly. "That had better be your D-Arc I can feel poking into my back…"

"It is," the boy replied quickly, detaching the offending gadget from his belt and showing it to her as proof.

"Be quiet!" Strikedramon whispered urgently. "We are coming up on the checkpoint at the edge of the city."

* * *

"You there!" a pair of Guardromon called out in unison as Strikedramon drew closer to the fortified roadblock they manned. "State your business in the city of Gear!"

"I'm a traveller," the enormous purple dragon growled in reply. "I have come to trade for items needed by some friends of mine."

"A likely story!" the robot to his left sneered and slowly circled round behind him. "You're a Dramon. How do we know you're not a spy for the Dramon Kingdom?"

"I'd sooner die than bow before that pretender to the throne of the Dragon Emperor!" Strikedramon roared, making his interrogator flinch. "Examon is an insult to Dramon everywhere."

"Hmmm…" the other Guardromon mumbled, eyeing the backpack slung over his shoulder. "What's in the bag?"

"Food and other goods for trading."

"Like we haven't heard that before," the first robot scoffed. "Open it."

"I assure you, it is ju-"

"Open it!" he repeated, his arms morphing into a pair of grenade launchers that were immediately levelled at the dragon.

A resigned growl left Strikedramon's throat as he swung the bag off of his shoulder and placed it none-too-gently on the ground. He hastily unzipped the flap on the top of the plain, brown backpack to reveal a large variety of colourful fruits and a number of loaves of bread.

"Hmmm…" the second Guardromon mumbled again, carefully examining the contents of the bag. "Okay, you can go in. Make sure you stay out of trouble, lizard."

"As you command…" the purple dragon growled sarcastically, closing the bag and swinging it over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Be more careful!" Ryo's voice hissed from within the backpack. "You nearly knocked the false top loose when you dropped us."

"I shall have to try harder next time," Strikedramon replied quietly and gave the bag a short, sharp shake. He was rewarded by a painful-sounding 'THUD' and a series of muted curses.

"Since when did the berserker have a sense of humour?" Rika muttered to herself as she rubbed the back of her head, Ryo doing the same beside her.

"Cyberdramon doesn't look so bad now, huh?"

* * *

On a side street a few blocks into the city, Takato, Guilmon, Kazu and Andromon were having no easier a time. Guilmon's bulky form and inability to Digivolve meant that he and the two boys had been crammed into Andromon's backpack like sardines. They had arrived at a checkpoint a little way to the south almost half an hour ago, but had been delayed by the irritatingly enthusiastic efforts of the two Guardromon border guards to recruit Andromon into the local police force. Eventually, he managed to convince the pair of walking adverts that yes, he _was _happy with his current job's health plan and no, he _didn't _want to be like "the digital Robocop".

_Finally, _the android thought and let out a small sigh of relief as he saw Strikedramon step into the alley. The dragon padded casually over to the android and leaned back against the wall, ignoring the squeaks of pain from inside his backpack as his passengers were squashed against the hard stone.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were coming," Andromon half-joked with a concerned glance at his companion's bag. "Or that maybe your hunter's instinct isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"You can put it to the test if you like," the purple-skinned lizard growled. "You go hide, I'll track you down and kill you."

"Erm, no thanks…"

"I was joking, metal-head," Strikedramon chuckled darkly. "So, any idea how to find Hawkmon?"

"None, but I suggest we ask for directions."

"Rule number one of Gear," a voice called out softly from above them and the two Digimon looked to see a bird-like silhouette perched on the roof of a building across the alley. "Every shadow hides a pair of ears. Fortunately, my ears happen to be the right ones."

* * *

Mountain Level – 10:34a.m.

"It's quiet," Cam muttered and glanced around at the rocky surroundings of the Mountain Level. The group of humans and Digimon had been hiking up the mountains for almost an hour and had made excellent progress, though they were yet to encounter any signs of life. "Too quiet."

"That's probably because Kazu isn't here," Terriermon chuckled. "You're used to him moaning about every little thing."

"Terriermon…"

"Momentai, Henry! It's not like he can hear me all the way from Gear."

"That's not the point and you know it."

"Break it up, ladies," Cam sighed exaggeratedly as they reached a fork in the path. The left-hand path led up the mountain at a ridiculously-steep angle, while the route to the right sloped upwards at a much more reasonable gradient.

"Henry, which way do we go?" Gaogamon asked as the blue-haired boy pulled out his hastily-scribbled instructions.

"Hmmm…according to this, we should go left. The slope should level out a bit after a while."

"Left it is, then," Leomon nodded and set off up the slope, Kenta and Jeri clutching onto his mane and trying not to look down at the long drop to their right. The rest of the group followed after him and were relieved when Henry's prediction was proven true, the rocky path levelling out to a much more comfortable angle after a couple of minutes. They were less pleased, however, when they rounded a bend and saw that the path in front of them narrowed to less than a metre wide, only widening again after about thirty metres.

"Are you _sure _this is the way we're meant to go?" Kenta asked, casting a nervous glance at the dangerously-thin ledge in front of him and the several-hundred metre drop to the ground below. "I mean, they can't have expected us to get across that safely."

"This is the way that both Ryo and Sage told us to come," Henry replied with a confused frown. "It's meant to be the easiest and safest route to the Sovereign Level."

"I don't know…" Jeri mumbled and tightened her grip on her partner's mane.

"I wouldn't recommend trying to walk on that path," Gaogamon warned them. "It looks to me like a landslide caused a large portion of it to collapse – it is most likely still highly unstable. Sage and Ryo may not have known that this route was now inaccessible."

"Pipipipipipuhpiiii!" Marine Angemon suggested with a small grin.

"That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Kenta moaned and slapped his forehead.

"Pipuhpuhpi?"

"Hey!"

"You want to fill us in?" Terriermon grumbled and scratched his ears. "Not all of us speak gibberish, ya know."

"Terriermon…"

"Heh, he's kinda right, actually," the green-haired boy admitted with a sheepish grin. "I sometimes forget only I can understand him. Anyway, MarineAngemon suggested we float across the gap in one of his bubbles. That way there's no chance of us falling off."

"An excellent idea!" an unfamiliar voice called from above the Tamers in a Californian accent. "A pity you'll never be able to put it into practice."

The children and their Digimon partners looked up to see more than twenty Commandramon emerge from under their camouflage nets on the slopes above them and level their assault rifles. The dragon soldiers were aligned in a semicircle that gave their weapons excellent coverage, allowing them to pick off the Tamers with ease if they tried to run. Stood at the centre of the semicircle was a slightly-taller Commandramon with three white chevrons painted on his shoulder pads, a pump-action shotgun slung over his back. The dragon was wearing a pair of mirrored Aviator sunglasses and had an enormous brown cigar clutched in his teeth. Henry pulled out his D-Arc and tried to surreptitiously scan the Digimon, but froze when it chuckled and pointed at him.

"Very stealthy. Show me what you've got there!" it ordered, breaking out in a feral grin when the boy held up his D-Arc. "Oh, it's just that thing? Go ahead and scan me with it then."

Henry obliged, reading out the stats to his friends as they appeared on the screen of his D-Arc.

_Name: SargeCommandramon_

_Level: Champion_

_Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:_

_DCD Bomb_

_Scatter Shot_

_Strike Dagger_

"Well, now you know who I am, let's get down to business," SargeCommandramon called and folded his arms. "You are trespassing on the lands of Dragon Emperor Examon, wise and benevolent ruler of the Dramon Kingdom. State your business and surrender or we will open fire."

"That is not necessary," Leomon replied, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender as Jeri and Kenta climbed off of his shoulders. "We are just passing through and did not realize that we were trespassing. With your permission, we will be on our way. We will not return."

"Not good enough, furball," the dragon growled and shook his head. "I got procedures to follow. You'll be taken to a nearby military base where you will submit to interrogation and-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cam interrupted and glared at the blue-scaled sergeant. "If anything you should be helping us out!"

"Oh? And why would I do that?"

"We share a common enemy," Gaogamon replied. "Zhuqiaomon has kidnapped several of our friends – three human children – and we are on a mission to rescue them. We were on our way to his lands when you stopped us."

"Right. I haven't heard anything about the Mad Sovereign kidnapping humans. Why should I believe you?"

"The Dramon Kingdom must have spies in Zhuqiaomon's lands," Jeri called nervously. "Your commanders might know something about it. Can't you at least tell them about this? They might be able to confirm our story."

"And if you let us go, we'll be doing you a favour," Terriermon added. "We're the guys who took out half the Devas!"

"Hmmm…" SargeCommandramon mumbled, his expression hidden behind his sunglasses. "Fine. I'll report this to base and ask for further orders. In the meantime, you will wait here under guard."

"Please hurry," Henry shouted after the dragon as he turned and began to walk away. "We need to get to the Sovereign Level as quick as possible. Any delays put lives at risk."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied, bellowing at one of his soldiers a second later. "HEY RADAR? GET ON THE HORN TO HQ, NOW!"

* * *

Hub Level, City of Gear, Gazimon's Budget Motel – 10:56a.m.

"Here is your room," Hawkmon said as he opened the rather battered imitation-wood door to reveal an equally battered-looking room with two beds of appropriate size for Cyberdramon and Andromon. There were also a couple of chairs, a table and two bedside tables similarly scaled-up to accommodate the large Digimon. "My apologies for the quality of the room, but Gazimon is one of the only people willing to help the followers of Sage. This room should be safe from Zhuqiaomon's spies, but if you are discovered, you can press down on the top-right bedpost of the left-hand bed and an escape tunnel will open."

"It is not a problem," Strikedramon replied as he closed and locked the door behind him, his harsh voice contrasting with Hawkmon's soft, almost shy tones.

"Yes, it will more than suffice for our needs," Andromon agreed as he placed his backpack gently on one of the beds. "You have our thanks."

"It was nothing," the red and white bird replied with a small shrug. "By the way, the message I received said there would be more of you – four more humans and two more Digimon…"

"In here!" Takato's voice called from Andromon's backpack as the boy struggled to climb out. "Guilmon! Get…off…me!"

A high-pitched yelp of pain echoed from the bag as it rolled over onto its side, spilling fruit from the false bottom across the bed. Kazu crawled out a second later, clutching his groin and whimpering in pain.

"Oops, sorry!" Guilmon called cheerfully as he leapt out of the bag and looked around curiously. "Why is everything so big in here?"

"I have a better question," Viximon's voice growled from inside Strikedramon's backpack. "Why don't you unzip this thing and LET US OUT!"

The purple dragon obliged, removing the bag and unzipping it with unnecessary slowness. As soon as the backpack was open, Viximon knocked aside the false bottom and leapt out, re-Digivolving to Renamon in a flash of light and a shower of fruit.

"Finally," she sighed, plucking half a pulped apple from on top of her head.

"Man, it felt like we were stuck in there forever," Ryo moaned as he climbed out of the bag and lowered himself to the floor to stand on shaky legs.

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it," Strikedramon chuckled, drawing a surprised glare from his Tamer.

"If you weren't three times my size I'd break your legs for that," Rika growled. "And when did you develop a sense of humour?"

"About the same time I bio-emerged in your b-"

"ANYWAY!" Ryo shouted suddenly, cutting off the dragon. "You must be Hawkmon. I'm Ryo, this is Rika and Renamon, and Strikedramon you've already met."

"Hello," the bird greeted them with a small bow. "And these three are…?"

"I'm Takato, this is Kazu and my partner Guilmon," Takato replied with a friendly smile. "So, what's the plan?"

"I think I should head out and find the guy who'll upgrade the D-Comms ASAP," Ryo suggested. "I'll have to go alone, though – he won't trust anyone but me and Strikedramon."

"So what are we supposed to do while you're gone?" Kazu asked, his voice returning to a more normal pitch as the pain in his groin subsided.

"Wait here, I guess, and be ready to act as backup in case things go sour."

"You could always have a game of cards," Strikedramon suggested with a shrug.

"Against Rika? Yeah, right…"

"She doesn't win _every _time…" Ryo noted with a small grin.

"Against him I do," the redhead replied with a glare. "And that reminds me – you still owe me a rematch."

"Another day, pumpkin," he chuckled and winked at the girl, who clenched her fists and was about to leap across the room and strangle him when he quickly leapt back into the backpack. "Let's go, Strikedramon! Tactical retreat!"

"Humans," the dragon muttered and shook his head. "I'll never understand you…"

* * *

Half an hour later, Ryo and Strikedramon stood inside a large, high-ceilinged basement littered with disassembled computers and large mechanical parts. A series of clangs and fizzes could be heard from somewhere within the room, the source of the noise hidden by the maze of junk.

"Datamon?" the boy called hesitantly, the noise suddenly dying out as his voice echoed through the massive room.

"Who wants to know?" a high-pitched voice with a metallic edge asked suspiciously.

"Paranoid as ever, I see," Strikedramon growled with a shake of his head before calling out to the Digimon. "One hides the lies. The truth is in the zero."

"Ryo? Cyberdramon?" the voice gasped in surprise, a large section of the wall of junk sliding into the ground to reveal a path into the middle of the maze. "Come on in! Watch out for the flamethrowers, though. Not entirely sure if I disarmed them correctly…"

Datamon's fears were quickly proven valid as a long tongue of orange flame was belched into the air from somewhere in the middle of the junk field. Ryo and Strikedramon cautiously made their way down the narrow path, emerging into a clearing several metres across occupied by an android Digimon less than two feet tall. The robot had a body shaped like a rounded bullet, a crude face with two glowing yellow camera-eyes and a fanged mouth on the lower half of the bullet. The lower half of Datamon's body was made of a gleaming silver metal, with the upper half being made of reinforced glass, a series of complex computer processors could be seen through the transparent substance. A pair of metal, cable-like arms tipped with four-fingered hands protruded from the sides of his body, four similar-looking legs ending in red claws emerging from the bottom.

"You're looking well," Strikedramon remarked as the android looked up with something approaching a grin on his face. "Last time we saw you, your chassis was half-destroyed."

"I wish I could say the same to you!" Datamon replied with a horrified look. "You're…you're…purple!"

"I found it necessary to de-Digivolve to avoid detection."

"I would have thought hair like that would have made you more noticeable, but I'll take your word for it," the android shrugged and turned to Ryo. "And young master Ryo…you've gotten taller again, haven't you?"

"It tends to happen to us humans," the boy replied with an easy grin. "How's that replacement camera eye I got you holding up?"

"It works better than the old one!" Datamon chuckled as his left eye flashed red and then purple before turning back to yellow. "I can see infrared and ultraviolet with this bad boy…but only out of one eye…"

"That must be pretty confusing."

"It gives me CPU-ache like you wouldn't believe if I use it for too long…anyway, what can I do for you?"

"We've got these communication devices called D-Comms," the Tamer began, handing one of the PDA-style items to the diminutive Digimon. "They're meant to let us talk to people back on Earth, but they don't have enough power to break through the dimensional barrier, and we don't have the technology to upgrade them ourselves."

"Those pesky Laws of Physics, eh? Give it here," he sighed, taking the D-Comm and examining it thoroughly. "Yes, this should be no problem. How many do you need upgrading?"

"We have three of them, but even just upgrading one will do."

"In that case, I'll do all three of them at no cost. It's the least I could do for the pair who gave me back my eyes."

"We appreciate it," Strikedramon growled with a nod to the android. "When will the work be done?"

"Give me five hours, maybe six," Datamon replied, taking the other two D-Comms offered to him by Ryo. "By the time I'm done, these things will be able to break through the barrier and establish a stable channel for replies to be transmitted through."

"Perfect. See you in six hours!" the boy said with his trademark grin, turning to leave the indoor junkyard a second later.

* * *

City of Gear, Gazimon's Budget Motel – 11:32a.m.

"And Kazu Shioda wins again!" Kazu declared triumphantly as he laid a HiAndromon card down on top of his Andromon. "Andromon Digivolves to HiAndromon! Your Mistymon is toast."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Takato replied with a grin. "Mistymon Digivolves to Dynasmon."

"Wha…? How…? When…?"

"Hmmm…type advantage, power advantage, defence advantage and all-round kickass advantage," Rika ticked off on her fingers. "Looks like you're in trouble, Kazu."

The overconfident Tamer was quickly defeated by the newly-Digivolved Royal Knight, his HiAndromon quickly being reduced to molten slag by a series of fiery attacks. A triumphant grin broke out on Takato's face as Guilmon danced around excitedly and sung his Tamer's praises.

"That's 2 – 1 to me," the boy noted as he stood up and stretched. "Wow, I'd almost forgotten what winning felt like after getting whooped so many times by Rika and Henry…"

"Heh, I feel for ya buddy. I've lost count of the number of times Rika or Ryo have kicked my butt."

"Don't forget Jeri," the redhead noted with a smirk. "She managed to take you down almost as fast as I did."

"I was going easy on her, that's all!"

"Right, because you just _let _her get hold of BanchoLeomon that quickly…"

"I think this argument is a lost cause, Kazu," Andromon advised his Tamer with a small sigh.

"Meh," the boy replied with a shrug and eyed the android thoughtfully. "Andromon, I've been wondering…are you gonna, you know…_be _Andromon for good now?"

"I do not know," he answered honestly. "It is definitely possible. Before I met you, I had been Guardromon for a very long time and was close to Digivolving permanently anyway. We shall just have to see whether or not I de-Digivolve in the next few days."

"Uh, guys? On the topic of Digivolving," Takato began hesitantly. "I, uh…I noticed that Jeri never Digivolves Leomon in a battle. He's got an Ultimate form to Digivolve to – hell, he has a couple of them – so why doesn't she just swipe a blue card?"

"Because he doesn't want to Digivolve," Rika replied. "Leomon likes staying as Leomon and Jeri doesn't want to try and make him Digivolve."

"But wouldn't he be stronger as, say, GrapLeomon?"

"Have you _seen _Leomon fight?" Kazu asked with a chuckle. "Man, that guy could take on most Ultimate-level Digimon – he was ripping those Okuwamon to shreds back in the Swamp Level. He trains so much he doesn't _need_ to Digivolve to kick ass."

"Heh, you have a point there," the goggle-wearing Tamer conceded with a grin. "Hey, Hawkmon? You sure you don't want to join in?"

"No, thank you," the shy little Digimon replied softly from his perch atop one of the massive beds. "Actually, I'd better be going. I have some things I need to get done before tonight."

"Oh, okay. Thanks again for everything!"

"It was no problem. You're planning to leave tomorrow morning, right? I'll be back tonight at around five to say goodbye and provide you with any supplies I can scrounge."

"Food?" Guilmon asked excitedly, his curiosity peaked, cheering excitedly when the red-and-white bird nodded slowly. "YIPPEE!"

* * *

Hawkmon left the motel with a brief nod to its grey-furred owner, who looked like he was half asleep behind his overly-extravagant desk. The bird stepped out of the door and immediately set off towards the east side of the city, dodging nimbly between larger Digimon as they stomped past obliviously. After a twenty-minute walk he reached a rather bland-looking, unassuming shop nestled between two much more imposing buildings. Hawkmon made a beeline for the shop, called "BlackGargomon's Everyday Emporium" according to the faded green-painted sign over the door.

"We're closed!" a gruff voice called as the red-feathered Digimon pushed open the glass door.

"Then life shall open your eyes," Hawkmon replied, a series of angry mutters reaching his ears as BlackGargomon hauled himself through the door.

"Life can bite my furry ass," the black-and-brown rabbit grumbled. "This had better be important, birdbrain. You interrupted my nap."

"I need the supplies listed here by tonight," the smaller Digimon said as he handed BlackGargomon a crumpled piece of paper. "It'll have to be ready by five o'clock at the latest."

"You don't ask much, do you?" the Champion snorted as he read through the list. "Yeah, I can get you this no problem. This for the, ah…new arrivals?"

"Yes."

"Man, it's hard to believe that four Tamers could manage to sneak into the city…so, they staying at Gazimon's motel?"

"You know I can't tell you that. And keep your voice down!" Hawkmon hissed with a suspicious glance around. "You never know who might be listening."

"Actually, I do," BlackGargomon chuckled and clicked his fingers twice.

"What do you-MMMPH!"

Hawkmon was cut off as a pair of rust-coloured metal arms erupted through the floorboards beneath him, one massive hand clamping his beak shut as the other encircled his entire torso, immobilizing him completely. The bird struggled for several seconds before a sudden blast of electricity surged through his body, sending him spiralling into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

"Objective achieved," the Guardromon intoned as it stuffed the unconscious Digimon into a prison cell-like compartment in its torso. "Your assistance was most valuable, agent BlackGargomon."

"Anytime," the rabbit replied cheerfully. "So, where's my reward?"

"Initiating program: 'REWARD'," the android declared as its eyes flashed red. "Your services are no longer required by the Lord Sovereign."

"Wait, what are you…?"

"His Majesty Zhuqiaomon does not trust traitors," Guardromon sneered as its arms morphed into grenade launchers which were swiftly pointed at BlackGargomon.

* * *

Mountain Level – 12:08p.m.

"Grrrr…what's keeping that dumb dragon?" Terriermon pouted on top of his Tamer's head. "We've been waiting over an hour! We should just blast our way out of here and try to get to the Sovereign Level as fast as we can."

"Terriermon! Keep your voice down…" Henry hissed as he covered the rabbit's mouth.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with the little windbag," Gaomon muttered. "They have been keeping us waiting for too long. This smells like a trap to me."

"Yeah," Cam nodded with a wary glance at the Commandramon who still had their guns levelled at the group. "We need to at least have a plan ready in case they turn on us."

"That won't be necessary, kiddo," SargeCommandramon called from the cliffs above them as he suddenly reappeared in the middle of the semicircle of Commandramon. "Lower your weapons, men. His Divine Majesty Examon has granted the outsiders free passage through our lands. We are to show them the hidden paths and escort them to the Infiltrator Gate. That should cut a day or two off your travel time."

"Why are you helping us?" Leomon asked suspiciously.

"Because if you succeed, you'll have taken out the latest of the Mad Sovereign's schemes. If you fail, then there's no cost to us," the dragon shrugged and chewed on his cigar. "Now, get your little pink fairy buddy to float you all up here and we'll get moving."

* * *

City of Gear, Gazimon's Budget Motel – 5:35p.m.

"Damn it, what's keeping Akiyama?" Rika grumbled. "How long can it take to get across town and back? I want to get my hands on those stupid D-Comms."

"For that matter, I wonder where Hawkmon is," Takato mumbled with a worried frown. "I could have sworn he said he'd be back by now. I hope he's okay…"

"Ooooh, Takatomon…" Guilmon whined and tugged at the boy's sleeve. "I'm hungry…"

"Something doesn't feel right about this," Renamon muttered and clenched her paws into fists. "Andromon, are your sensors picking up anything?"

"No, nothing. All activity is within normal…" the android began, his mouth snapping shut suddenly as a worried look came over his face. "Wait, I am detecting something. A large number of machine-type Digimon are closing in on the area from all directions."

"Could it be the Guardromon? Have they found us?" Kazu asked as he pulled out his D-Arc.

"It is possible. No, wait – confirmed. They have found us. Several Digimon just entered the motel. They are currently in the reception area."

"Someone should go take a look," Takato mused as Guilmon's pupils narrowed and he let out a feral growl.

"I'll go," Rika volunteered, cutting off her partner's protests with a firm look. "I'm the smallest one here, so it'll be easier for me to hide. Renamon can come with me and we can _Kohenkyo _out of there if things get too dangerous."

"Be careful, Rika."

"This coming from the guy who goes to middle-of-the-night bio-emergences wearing yellow goggles and a bright blue hoody…"

* * *

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Gazimon protested as Rika peered cautiously around a doorframe. The grey-furred, rabbit-like Digimon was being restrained by two Guardromon who were holding him a foot off of the ground by his skinny arms. "I've never even _seen _a human, never mind let one stay in my motel!"

"Incorrect," a third Guardromon snapped. "At 10:55 a.m. today, a Strikedramon and an Andromon checked into this motel. They were carrying backpacks made of cheap brown cloth."

Gazimon began to look panicked at this. "They were just travellers! They didn't have any hu-"

"Those Digimon were Tamed Abominations. Inside each of those backpacks was that Digimon's Tamer, plus another Tamer and their own Abomination."

"I didn't know!" the grey-furred rabbit wailed. "Please, the resistance just told me to give these guys a room – I didn't know they'd be with humans!"

"Irrelevant. You will tell us which room they are staying in."

"Room seven!" he lied. Room seven was on the far side of the motel to the Tamers' room. "They're in room seven, now please don't-"

"This information is appreciated. Your service to the Living God Zhuqiaomon is no longer required," the Guardromon intoned emotionlessly and levelled its grenade launchers.

"Wait, please, I can give you more information! I can tell you the name of my contact with the rebels – it's Haw-"

"Hawkmon has already been apprehended. His interrogation is what led us here. You are of no further use to us."

Gazimon let out a terrified scream that was immediately cut short as a pair of rocket-propelled grenades slammed into his midsection and detonated, tearing him to bloody scraps of data and reducing his ornate reception desk to splinters.

* * *

"We need to go now!" Rika hissed as she and her partner phased back into existence in the centre of the room. "Hawkmon was captured and interrogated. They know we're here."

"Looks like it's time to use the escape tunnel," Takato said and climbed onto the left-hand bed.

"Wait, how do we know Hawkmon didn't tell them about that too?" Kazu asked. "There could be a dozen Guardromon waiting for us at the end of that tunnel."

"I cannot detect anything inside the tunnel," Andromon began hesitantly. "However, it is likely that it is shielded against such methods of detection to protect against the sensors of the Guardromon."

"We don't have a choice!" the begoggled Tamer replied and pushed down on the bedpost, a loud click echoing from under the bed as a section of floorboards swung downwards to reveal a long, dark tunnel a little over eight feet high and wide.

"And I can't smell anything," Guilmon added as he sniffed cautiously at the entrance to the tunnel. "I think it's safe, Takatomon."

"We should split up anyway so we can't all be captured at once," Rika suggested. "Renamon and I can get out using _Kohenkyo _and we can meet up later."

"What about Ryo?" Kazu asked with a worried frown. "If he comes back here, he'll be walking right into a trap."

"We'll find him," Renamon promised.

"We should get out of here," Andromon suggested as he picked up Guilmon and the two boys, depositing them gently into the tunnel before climbing in himself. "They're moving in on our position. I estimate twenty seconds before they breach the door."

"Got it. Good luck," Rika called as the android closed the trapdoor behind him. "Renamon – let's go!"

Mere seconds later, the door to the room was blown to smithereens by a blast from a Guardromon's grenade launchers, revealing a room that was conspicuously empty of all life.

"Room eleven negative," it chanted. "Moving on to room twelve."

* * *

"Now _that _is what I call a successful outing," Ryo chuckled to himself as he typed a brief message into his D-Comm.

_Yamaki,_

_We have managed to upgrade the D-Comms to let us talk to you. We won't be able to make the original rendezvous. Delay the launch of the Ark and wait for our signal._

_Ryo_

"And…sent!" he said with a triumphant grin.

"Ryo," Strikedramon growled, startling the boy. "Something is going on ahead, but I can't see what. I can see and smell smoke."

"Try and get a better view," he replied with a worried frown, his stomach lurching as the purple dragon leapt into the air and began quickly scaling the side of a several-storey building. "Well, can you see anything?"

"You…you'd better take a look at this," Strikedramon stammered and placed his backpack on the floor.

"What is it?" Ryo asked as the backpack was opened and a shaft of light nearly blinded him. The boy climbed out of the bag and blinked rapidly, his stomach tying itself in a knot as his vision cleared and he saw the source of the smoke.

Where Gazimon's motel had once stood, there was now a pile of smouldering rubble.

"What…how…" the Tamer stammered, his eyes tearing up as the awful sight sunk in. "Oh, gods…_Rika_…"

"You called?"


	31. Chapter 31

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One: Never Leave a Mon Behind**

Monday 15th November – 5:57p.m.

Hub Level, City of Gear

"Rika?" Ryo gasped, a look of indescribable relief flickering across his face before being replaced by his usual confident good humour. "Should have known it would take more than that to keep the Wildcat down…"

"It's a long way to the bottom, Akiyama," the redhead growled with an uncomfortable glance at Strikedramon.

"Oh, don't worry – I know you were only joking," the purple dragon chuckled. "I'm not about to throw you off another skyscraper. Ryo would never let me hear the end of it…"

"Good, 'cause I'd hate to have to catch her again!" the boy laughed and shook his head. "So, what happened? And where are the others?"

"Looks like Zhuqiaomon's spies found out we were at the motel – a bunch of Guardromon showed up and killed Gazimon. They would have found us too if Gazimon hadn't misdirected them and bought us a little time. Renamon and I got out of there with _Kohenkyo, _and the others took the secret tunnel."

"How did they know where we were?" Ryo muttered thoughtfully. "Were we betrayed?"

"Doubtful," Renamon replied. "We overheard one of the Guardromon saying that Hawkmon was captured and revealed our location under interrogation."

"Why did they destroy the motel?" Strikedramon wondered aloud. "It seems a bit excessive…"

"Wow, a lesson on self-control from the berserker…" Rika muttered and rolled her eyes. "After they found out we weren't in the room Gazimon told them we were in, they did a room-by-room search of the motel. We were long gone by the time they got to our room, so when they didn't find us they destroyed the whole place on the off chance we were still inside."

"Makes sense, I guess," the dragon's Tamer nodded. "So, do you have any way to contact Takato and Kazu?"

"We didn't have time to set anything up," Rika admitted with a frown.

"Hmmm, I wonder…" Ryo mumbled and pulled one of the D-Comms out of his pocket. "I might be able to connect to their D-Arcs with this. Let's see…"

After about a minute of button-pressing, the boy broke into a triumphant grin.

"Can I assume from that self-satisfied look you've done it?" Rika sighed, shaking her head slowly when the boy nodded. "So, what are you telling them?"

"I'm telling them to meet us in an alley on the far side of town. It's in a pretty busy area so it should be easy for them to get lost in the crowd," he replied, hitting send with a small flourish. "Now we just have to hope they can figure out how to reply…"

* * *

"Turn that thing off!" Kazu hissed as Takato's D-Arc let out a long series of wailing beeps. The shorter boy twisted round, trying desperately to manoeuvre his hand in the limited space available in Andromon's backpack to grab hold of the small device.

"Got it!" Takato whispered with a relieved sigh, frowning in confusion as a paragraph of text appeared on the D-Arc's screen. "What the…?"

"It looks like a message from Ryo," Kazu noted as he read the text over the goggle-wearing Tamer's shoulder.

"Yeah. He says he's with Rika and he wants us to meet him on an alley off 404th Street. Huh, I guess he got the D-Comms working…"

"Or did he?" the taller boy asked rhetorically. "We're in the most technologically-advanced city in the Digital World. For all we know, this could be a trap by Zhuqs's spies!"

"Uh, you actually have a point there. So how do we make sure it's them?"

"Oooh, maybe you could them a question that Zhuqiaomon wouldn't know the answer to!" Guilmon suggested excitedly.

"Good idea boy! Now, what should I ask them…?" Takato asked himself and began typing a response into his D-Arc after a few seconds of thinking.

_Hey Ryo and Rika!_

_Kazu isn't totally sure if it's really you, so we're gonna have to ask for some proof. Only Rika should know the answer to this question: what did you do to Luke Aaron in that fight you had with him?_

_Takato_

The trio sat there uncomfortably for a little over a minute before a reply came through.

_I kicked him in the nuts and smeared his nose across a table – and I'll do the same thing to you if you don't get your ass over here RIGHT NOW!_

_Stupid Gogglehead…_

"That's Rika, alright…" Takato chuckled. "You wanna tell Andromon to head over there?"

"I'm already on my way," the android whispered in reply. "I'll have you know my audio-sensor units are highly sensitive."

* * *

"Took you long enough," Rika muttered as Andromon squeezed into the narrow, dimly-lit alley, a muffled yelp coming from his backpack as it scraped against the wall.

"My apologies. I had to avoid a patrol of Guardromon about a mile back," the robot replied. "Are you sure this alley is safe? We can be clearly seen from the main street if anybody looks down here."

"That's why we're heading inside," Renamon told him as she motioned to a rather battered-looking wooden door that led into an old, run-down warehouse. The kitsune and her Tamer led the android behind a large metal crate where Ryo and Strikedramon were waiting before nodding towards the bag on his back. "You can let them out now."

Three mouths breathed simultaneous sighs of relief as Andromon complied and the two boys and Guilmon were let out of the backpack.

"I don't want to do _that _again Takatomon," Guilmon said firmly. "Your feet are stinky!"

"_My _feet stink? I don't even wanna know what's stuck between your claws!"

"If you two are finished," Rika growled in a tone that told them they definitely _were _finished. "We need to plan our next move."

"We have to find a way out of Gear," Ryo began with a thoughtful look. "The longer we stay here the greater the chance we'll be discovered."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Kazu asked and rolled his eyes. "These tin cans have locked down the whole city! There are guards on nearly every street corner."

"If we knew where they were deployed, we could work out a plan of attack and get ourselves out of here," Takato mused.

"Yeah, but we don't even have a tourist's guide to the city, never mind a deployment map of the Guardromon," Rika noted. "This is stupid. Every idiot knows you can't make plans when you don't have any intelligence on the enemy."

"I may be able to help on that front," Andromon offered and quickly explained his plan.

* * *

1:40p.m.

Guardromon Security Unit 514 was having quite a good day. If asked to rate it out of ten, he would have given it a 7.24, maybe a 7.25 at a push. His morning had been mostly uneventful – it had just the right amount of peace and quiet to make it an easy shift, but enough to do to break up the monotony. His afternoon so far had been excellent – the events across town and the sudden mobilization of all the Guardromon units had led to an eventful hour so far, and 514 could only see things getting even better.

A sudden noise from an alley on 514's right made him stop and turn. After assessing the situation, he calculated a 34% probability that some form of infraction was being committed and decided to investigate. The rust-coloured robot stomped noisily down the alley, scanning the area for any threats. When he found none, he continued down the alley until it widened into a square-shaped area about ten metres across lined with enormous American-style dumpsters. A quick scan of the dumpsters revealed no life signs, the only item of interest in the area being a life-size statue of an Andromon. 514 turned and began to walk back the way he came, but stopped as a loud cracking noise echoed off of the walls.

_Scanning…Hostile detected! Hostile detec-ERROR ERROR ERROEREROERRRERO…_

514 looked down in confusion to see an energy blade protruding from the centre of his chest. Assessing the site of impact, he calculated a 128,462% chance that the damage caused from the blade would cause a critical systems failure. As the world faded to black around him, 514 realized that there was a high probability that he had made an error in his calculations and resolved to run a self-diagnostic at the next available opportunity.

* * *

As the light slowly faded from the Guardromon's eyes, a cluster of wires emerged from between Andromon's fingers and connected to data ports dotted around the smaller android's chassis. Working quickly, the silver robot downloaded the deployment data for Gear's defence forces, as well as all the data files relating to the Tamers located on the Guardromon's hard drive. He barely managed to get all the files in time, the rust-coloured body disintegrating into data mere heartbeats after he unplugged from its data ports.

_I can't believe Ryo managed to find a use for the Rock Armour card… _Andromon thought with a dry chuckle as he looked at the shattered remains of his stony shell. Retrieving his backpack from behind a dumpster, the android began to make his way back to the warehouse, keeping to side streets in an attempt to avoid detection.

* * *

With the data obtained from the Guardromon, Andromon was able to tap into the tactical channels of Zhuqiaomon's forces and generate an animated, real-time holographic map of the city. Unfortunately, the map did not provide the Tamers with a weak spot in the city defences as expected – on the contrary, it showed nothing but a solid mass of Guardromon reinforced by brigades of Mekanorimon encircling the digital metropolis.

"Well, there's no way we're getting out _that _way," Ryo noted and shook his head. "Even if we had the others with us we'd never be able to fight through that many Digimon. We need a new plan."

"What about the sewers?" Takato suggested. "They might not be as heavily guarded as the surface – we could use them to slip out of the city."

"A nice idea, but no," Andromon replied. "The sewers of Gear are a closed system that leads to either the wrong end of a toilet or a great big reprocessing unit. There's no way we could escape through them."

"Hey, what're you all talking about escape for?" Kazu asked indignantly. "In case you've forgotten, these chumps have got our buddy Hawkmon! Are you just planning on leaving him here to die?"

"Odds are he's already dead," Ryo answered sadly. "There's nothing we can do for him now."

"Actually, these data files show that Hawkmon is still alive," Andromon began with a thoughtful frown. "He was captured along with a significant number of rebel agents and is being held in the enemy command centre at Phoenix Tower. Zhuqiaomon plans to have him publicly executed tomorrow at noon."

"That settles it! We have to rescue him!"

"Kazu, you're talking about attacking the enemy command centre – the most heavily-defended point in the city!" Ryo sighed in exasperation.

"Not according to this," Takato noted and pointed at the hologram being projected from Andromon's right eye.

"He's right," Strikedramon agreed and leaned in closer. "It looks like the majority of the tower's defensive forces have been redirected to assist in the blockade of the city. I count only a few dozen guards spread across the entire complex."

"It would seem that Zhuqiaomon has made a tactical error," Renamon chuckled.

"Oh, that's _very _interesting…" Andromon muttered, clarifying his odd comment when he noticed the odd looks he was receiving. "I am still sorting through all the data I downloaded and I just looked up the schematics for Phoenix Tower. Apparently, there is an underground tunnel concealed in the lower levels leading out of the city."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Rika growled.

"As I said, I am still looking over all the data I obtained."

"Can we use it to get out of the city?" Takato asked hopefully.

"Ah, that is where we hit a small snag – only a small one, though!" the android replied cheerfully. "The entrance to the tunnel is apparently well-hidden and sealed with an incredibly strong door. The only way to reveal and open it is to input a passcode that is only stored on the mainframe of Phoenix Tower."

"I guess that's it then," Ryo conceded. "Looks like we'll have to launch an attack on the tower if we want to get out of here in one piece."

"One problem, Akiyama," Rika began and rolled her eyes. "There's still the issue of the army camped outside the city. If we all attack the tower they'll know exactly where we are and can rush us with everything they have."

"She has a point," Strikedramon nodded. "We'll need to create a distraction, then take out the tower's communications to prevent them from calling for help."

"I can take care of the communications if you can take care of the distraction," Andromon said. "I have the codes to every one of their channels – I can blanket them with enough white noise to completely neutralize all communication devices."

"So what do me and Takatomon get to do?" Guilmon asked hopefully.

"You two would probably be better off helping with the distraction," Rika replied with a small smirk. "WarGrowlmon isn't exactly designed for stealthy infiltration work."

"Which leaves you two to back up Kazu and Andromon at the tower," Takato finished. "Now, we just need to come up with a big enough distraction."

"Oh, I think I have an idea…" Ryo chuckled darkly and drew a card from the holder on his belt, showing it to the younger Tamer with an evil grin. "I wonder if Zhuqiaomon understands poetic justice…"

* * *

City of Gear, Industrial Sector – 7:41p.m.

"**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate! Goliath activate!**" two voices called as one, twin flares of red and white light spilling from the inside of an enormous factory on the western side of Gear. Seconds later, the factory's roof bulged and split open as two colossal Digimon reared up – one a thirty-foot high dragon in sleek black armour, the other a forty-foot cybernetically-enhanced red dinosaur. The Digimon let out earth-shaking roars that shattered windows in factories several hundred metres away.

"They're gonna have a hard time ignoring this," Takato chuckled and shook his head to try and clear the irritating ringing from his ears.

"You can say that again," Ryo agreed as his partner lifted him up onto his shoulder. "Shall we get to work?"

"Yes," WarGrowlmon and his Tamer replied as one as they submerged themselves in their link. "**Atomic Blaster!**"

Twin torrents of crimson energy tore from the saurian's chest-mounted cannons, an entire city block of factories disintegrating under their caress. Alarms and sirens rang out in the night as the flaming remnants of the abandoned buildings collapsed into smouldering piles of rubble.

* * *

Northern edge of Gear, Transmission Tower 23 – 7:41p.m.

"One…two…three…" Andromon and Kazu counted as his/their audio-sensor units picked up an enormous explosion from across town. The duo continued counting as the airwaves were flooded with confused reports and requests for orders, a single voice eventually breaking through the others and ordering all units to converge on the 'abominations'. As their count reached one hundred, a series of wires leapt from Andromon's hands and connected to the transmitter tower he was kneeling in front of. Seconds later, the transmitter was reconfigured and the airwaves were flooded with ear-piercingly loud and shrill white noise.

"Stage 1 complete," Kazu and Andromon intoned as one. "Initiate Stage 2."

"You don't have to talk like that, you know," Rika grumbled, Renamon nodding her agreement next to her.

"I know, but it sounds totally awesome!" the boy replied, speaking on his own this time.

"No, it doesn't. Now come on – we have to move quickly if this plan is gonna work."

* * *

7:45p.m.

An alarm ringing on Takato's D-Arc brought him briefly out of his bond with WarGrowlmon and he glanced at the small device, cursing when he noticed the time. He cursed again when his partner ducked to avoid a laser beam fired from a Mekanorimon, nearly throwing the boy from his shoulder.

"Ryo, Cyberdramon!" he called out as he re-submerged himself in the bond, WarGrowlmon's voice joining his as he spoke. "Two minutes left on the Goliath cards!"

The duo's only reply was a roar of "**Desolation Claw!**" as they launched a wave of energy that shredded half a dozen Guardromon into scrap metal. Takato repeated his warning and Cyberdramon gave a curt nod to show he had heard. The dragon lashed out with his left claws as a swarm of Guardromon and Mekanorimon charged towards him, tearing an enormous rift in the side of a tall office building about a third of the way up its structure. He dodged back as the building let out a series of groans and cracks and began to topple over into the street. The horde of smaller Digimon noticed the danger too late and dozens of them were crushed beneath the steel and concrete monolith, an enormous cloud of dust being thrown into the air as the impact shook the earth. When the dust cleared, Cyberdramon and WarGrowlmon were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"Take a left," Ryo shouted and looked up from his D-Arc as a now-normal-sized Cyberdramon carried Takato, Guilmon and himself down the dark, damp tunnels of the Gear sewers. The dragon complied, skidding around the corner at breakneck speed before breaking back into a run.

_I have to admit, this was a pretty good idea by Kazu's standards, _Ryo chuckled mentally. _Just 'cause we can't use the sewers to get __**out**__ of the city doesn't mean we can't use them to move __**around**__ the city…_

* * *

Phoenix Tower – 7:43p.m.

"**Talisman Star!**"

"**Gatling Attack!**"

Two Guardromon let out gurgling screams as an odd razor-edged symbol made of red energy flew past them in a boomerang arc, bisecting their faceplates in a spray of sparks and oil. At the same time, the two Guardromon guarding the main entrance to Phoenix Tower – a streamlined structure shaped like a single-edged blade and made of the same grey stone as the rest of Gear – were struck by sleek silver missiles that reduced them to twin piles of scrap metal. The four remaining Guardromon in the courtyard were quickly despatched as Taomon dropped from the sky and lashed out repeatedly with her Talisman Star, wielding it underhanded like an assassin's dagger. As the four robots fell to the ground in pieces, a pair of Mekanorimon rumbled into life and stomped towards the kitsune. The first fired off a scarlet energy beam with a cry of "**Twin Beam!**" only for the vulpine wizard to dodge nimbly aside. The second Mekanorimon lined up its shot, its lens-like weapon beginning to glow red.

"**Twin**-"

"**Lightning Blade!**" Andromon interrupted as he leapt from the high wall surrounding the tower, his right hand morphing into an energy blade in mid-air. He landed on the Mekanorimon's shoulders and quickly stabbed with his energy blade, penetrating the blocky vehicle's dome-like cockpit and stopping it dead in its tracks. The android leapt from his victim's shoulders as a series of explosions rocked its frame, lashing out once again with his blade and removing the legs from the remaining Mekanorimon. A pair of quick slashes bisected the torso before it could even hit the ground, the mecha's ruptured reactor core detonating in a firestorm that silhouetted a crouching Andromon as he retracted his energy blade.

"How melodramatic," Rika and Taomon sighed as one as they observed the android's ridiculous pose.

"If we can look cool while kicking butt, then what's the harm in doing so?" Kazu and Andromon replied, their wildly-different speech patterns fusing into an odd hybrid of polite and casual.

"Unfortunately, you can't do either. Now hurry up and get those doors open – we don't have long before they figure out which comm tower we sabotaged, bypass it and call for reinforcements."

"As you wish…"

* * *

The quartet encountered little resistance as they moved further into the tower, running into only four Guardromon on the first floor. Three of the robots tried to keep the infiltrators busy as the fourth sabotaged the elevator – a minor inconvenience at best that was easily countered by using Taomon's floating Taijitu disk. Unfortunately, the higher levels of the tower were much more strongly-defended.

* * *

"What is TAKING SO LONG?" a grotesquely-muscled humanoid Digimon with a skull-like metal head and a mess of dark blue hair roared. The Digimon was about ten feet tall and was wearing flame-patterned black trousers and massive black leather boots with skull-shaped steel toe-caps. The monstrous creature's torso and arms were wrapped with metal chains, one of which he held in his hand and used to whip a Guardromon as he spoke. "What use is the most advanced communication network in the Digital World if you pathetic worms can't even keep it running?"

"Our apologies, Governor SkullMeramon," one of the Guardromon stammered frantically. "We are doing the best we can, but the enemy's jamming techniques are interfering with our connection to the towers. They're making our diagnostics take ten times longer to complete!"

"I didn't ask for excuses!" SkullMeramon roared and lashed out with his chain-whip, crushing the robot's head. "Give me some RESULTS!"

The furious Digimon's order was punctuated by a soft chime as the elevator doors opened behind him. SkullMeramon turned with a furious rebuke on his metal lips, but fell silent as he laid eyes on two humans, a Taomon and an Andromon.

"INTRUDERS!" he roared, sending the Guardromon in the control room scrambling to their feet.

"**Guardian Barrage!**" twenty voices called as one, forty missiles arcing towards the open elevator doors.

* * *

"Hold on!" Taomon and Rika growled in unison as the taijitu disk suddenly dropped fifteen feet, the missile barrage slamming into the walls of the elevator shaft and tearing chunks of masonry loose from the walls. The disk jerked forwards without warning, tearing through a pair of sealed elevator doors just as a two-tonne chunk of concrete fell through the space where it had been hovering less than half a second previously.

"Well, we're not getting in that way," Kazu remarked drily and dusted off his shirt. "How are we meant to get to the control room now?"

"How about we…bring the control room…to us?" Rika gasped with a vicious grin, fighting for breath after donating so much of her own energy to aid in Taomon's exertions.

A confused look crossed Kazu's face, disappearing and being replaced by a feral grin of his own as he looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, yeah…"

* * *

"**Talisman Spell!**" Taomon and Rika called as one as the kitsune tossed eight glowing, white spell papers into the air.

The papers fluttered through the air and arranged themselves into a perfect circle thirty metres wide that hovered a metre above the ground, the circle beginning to spin slowly after a few seconds. As the papers moved they gradually accelerated until they appeared to form a solid wheel of light that slowly rose higher into the air until it made contact with the ceiling. The wheel flared even brighter and sped up, sawing quickly through the ceiling until an ominous cracking echoed through the room. The four humans and Digimon barely had time to shield their eyes before the ceiling gave way, depositing a large section of the control room – along with twenty Guardromon and SkullMeramon – on the floor in a shower of dust and debris.

"**Lightning Blade!**" Andromon and Kazu roared, making use of the android's advanced sensors to penetrate the thick cloud of dust and locate their targets. The silver-skinned Digimon leapt forwards, lashing out in a forehand strike with his energy blade and slicing a Guardromon neatly in half. He used the momentum from his attack to launch himself into a pirouette, his left hand morphing into a second energy blade that decapitated a second Guardromon and his right arm came around and impaled a third straight through the chest. As his sensors detected a sudden spike in energy levels behind him, the android pushed himself off of the rust-coloured robot and leapt into the air as Taomon and Rika's voices called out behind him.

"**Talisman of Light!**"

A beam of energy tore through the dust cloud, engulfing three Guardromon and reducing them to molten slag and spare data. Two more of the automatons were dealt glancing blows and were torn in half in sprays of sparks and metal shards.

"**Weak Slap!**" Andromon and Kazu shouted as the patchwork android landed and flicked his arms to the sides, launching twin waves of energy from his hands that each tore through a Guardromon.

"**Flame Chain!**" a voice roared as a steel chain coated in blue fire slammed into Andromon's chest, eliciting a gasp of pain from the android and an agonized shout from his Tamer.

"Kazu, you okay?" Rika asked in confusion (and more concern than she would ever admit) as the boy fell to his knees.

"I…I felt that hit…how is that possible?"

"It makes sense," Taomon replied tersely as Andromon climbed to his feet and dodged a second attack from SkullMeramon's chains. "We can see what the other sees, hear what the other hears, feel what the other feels. It is only logical that pain would be transmitted as well."

"What are you babbling about, Abomination?" SkullMeramon sneered. "Shut up and fight already! I want to see just how much I can make your human scream as she burns…"

"**THOUSAND SPELLS!**" Taomon roared, launching hundreds of little red spell papers at SkullMeramon. The fiery Digimon leapt aside, leaving two Guardromon squarely in the line of fire. The robots' armour was shredded by the repeated impacts and they were thrown screaming out of the window of the tower, plummeting towards the ground almost half a mile below.

"**Metal Fireball!**" SkullMeramon shouted in reply, spitting a ball of molten metal from his mouth.

"**Talisman Spell!**" Rika snarled in unison with her partner as the kitsune drew on their bond. The girl staggered suddenly as the projectile struck the shield and it nearly failed, only being saved by a last-second burst of effort by Taomon.

"_Rika, are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine," _the redhead lied as she fought for breath. _"Just a little tired, that's all."_

"_You are a terrible liar," _Taomon chuckled as she dodged another attack from SkullMeramon, decapitating two Guardromon with a thrown Talisman Star as she landed. _"I am sorry. I did not realize how much my spells had drained you."_

"_I'll be fine, now let's-"_

"You are _not _fine," the Wizard Digimon growled out loud. "We can't risk using the link or you could pass out from exhaustion."

"You and Taomon can get out of here if you want," Kazu and Andromon interrupted as the android finished off the last of the Guardromon with his arm blades. "We can take this Ghost Rider knockoff no problem."

"You sure?" Rika asked, hesitant to leave halfway through a battle.

"We'll be fine. Now go find Hawkmon and the other rebels and free them."

* * *

As Taomon ran through the corridors as fast as her legs could carry her, Rika cradled in her arms, the girl found herself cursing her own weakness.

_I can't believe I nearly passed out…I'm stronger than this! _she snapped mentally. _Then again, we…I mean, Taomon has been using a lot of magic. I mean, there was the taijitu disk to get us here – I didn't even know we could make it move that fast! Not to mention destroying all those Guardromon, the whole thing in the elevator shaft…_

"_It is not your fault, Rika," _Taomon reassured her telepathically. _"You are only human and you are still young. Immersing ourselves in the link for so long was a mistake by __**both **__of us. At least we have learned a lesson to use it sparingly."_

"_I guess…man, I must be tired if I didn't notice I was broadcasting my thoughts the whole time," _the redhead chuckled.

"_Actually, you weren't. I just know you that well."_

Any chance for further conversation was lost when the kitsune rounded a corner and found herself practically face-to-face with a pair of Guardromon.

"Intruders!" they cried in unison as they armed their grenade launchers. "Security alert! They are trying to free the prisoners!"

"I don't think anybody's listening," Taomon chuckled darkly and threw a pair of Talisman Stars at the robots, the bladed projectiles embedding themselves in their armoured head units.

"Well, at least now we know we've reached the prison," Rika remarked with a small smirk as she climbed out of her partner's arms. "Now, what did Andromon say I had to do again…?"

The girl pulled out her D-Arc and pointed it at the door's keypad, which was some six feet above the ground. A complex series of numbers scrolled across the small device's screen, the same numbers flashing across the keypad's screen with a half-second delay. After a few seconds, both devices let out small chimes and the double doors slid open automatically.

As she glanced around the newly-unlocked room, Rika felt a growing sense of nausea that culminated in an almost-irresistible urge to vomit as she laid eyes on the figure in the centre of the cavernous room.

"Oh gods…"

* * *

"**Metal Fireball!**"

"**Weak Slap!**" Andromon and Kazu cried, launching a wave of energy that sliced through and dissipated the sphere of molten metal.

"Not bad," SkullMeramon admitted grudgingly. "You fight pretty well – for a _machine_."

"Ooh, I'm _so _insulted," they replied and rolled their eyes in unison. "**Gatling Attack!**"

"**Flame Chain!**" the fiery Digimon replied, lashing out with his chains and detonating the missiles prematurely. "Even so, you can't hope to defeat _me! _You're just delaying the inevitable for both yourself and your little girlfriend."

"I think I'm gonna hurl…" Kazu muttered before launching himself back into his link with his partner. "You're really starting to sound like a walking stereotype, you know that?"

"Meh," SkullMeramon shrugged as a series of blue flames worked their way along his chains. "**Heat Chain Midareuchi!**"

Andromon leapt aside as a flaming chain arced down towards him, raising his right arm to ward off a second as it slashed at him from the right. SkullMeramon laughed as the android walked right into his trap and the chain wrapped around his arm, another chain encircling his left arm within seconds.

"You think this will hold me?" Andromon and his Tamer scoffed. "**Lightning Blade!**"

A loud groaning sound came from the androids arms as his armour plates struggled to shift and reconfigure into their energy blade emitter form. The chains encircling his arms proved too strong to break, however, despite repeated cries of "**Lightning Blade!**" and a series of curses from Kazu.

"Not so tough now, are we?" SkullMeramon taunted and pulled on the chains. Andromon staggered forward a step before planting his feet and pulling back against his fiery opponent. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that SkullMeramon was winning the tug-o-war as Andromon began sliding slowly towards him.

"Kazu…" he began in a worried tone as the boy broke off their link.

"Hey, haven't you learned to trust me by now, chumley?" he asked with a grin as he drew a card. "**Digi-Modify! Strength activate!**"

Andromon suddenly pulled hard on the chains as he felt new strength fill his limbs, knocking SkullMeramon off balance. With a feral grin, the android flicked his arms upward, tossing his opponent into the air and smashing his head against the ceiling before slamming him face-first into the ground. A chuckle escaped Andromon's lips as he began spinning on the spot, swinging SkullMeramon like a flail.

"**Lightning Blade!**" he called suddenly, his hands finally managing to reconfigure into energy blades with their newfound strength. The twin blades sliced through the chains like butter, sending SkullMeramon flying through the already-broken window and out over the streets below. "**Gatling Attack!**"

SkullMeramon screamed in terror as he plummeted towards the streets below, the ground rushing up to meet him much faster than he would have liked.

_Oh, Sovereign! I'm too young to die! _he thought despondently before he smashed face-first into the concrete, twin explosions ripping what remained of his corpse to bloody ribbons a split second later.

* * *

"I don't…this is…" Rika stammered as she surveyed the gruesome scene in front of her. She was stood in a cavernous, dimly-lit room about twenty metres across. The walls were lined with cages and tables laden with torture implements were dotted around at random intervals. At the centre of the room was another cage, its occupant mutilated practically beyond recognition.

"Is that…Hawkmon?" Taomon whispered in shock. The little bird was crucified on a Y-shaped metal frame, held on by ropes of barbed wire. He had lost all of his feathers and was covered in blood, his claws had been hacked off along with most of his toes, his wings and legs looked to be broken in multiple places and his beak was cracked to the point of uselessness.

Even more horrifying was that Hawkmon was not alone. Dozens of other Digimon filled the cages around the edges of the room, all of them in similar or worse shape than the mutilated bird. Out of all of the tormented Digimon, Rika could identify only three: a RizeGreymon, a MagnaAngemon and a Kyukimon. The latter she could only recognize because it was impaled on its own claws.

"They're…they're all dead," the girl whispered to herself as she realized that none of the Digimon appeared to be breathing. "Why…why doesn't their data dissipate?"

"Zhuqiaomon likely has some form of technology that prevents it from happening," Taomon replied in a flat tone. "He probably planned to make these corpses into permanent reminders of the risk of defying him. Like heads on pikes, but more…"

A pained groan interrupted the vixen before she had to finish her sentence and Rika let out a gasp as she realized one last, horrifying, sanity-blasting fact.

Hawkmon was still alive.

"Oh gods…" Rika whispered and ran towards the cage, grabbing a blood-stained key from a nearby table and unlocking the door. "Hawkmon? Hawkmon, can you hear me?"

"Ri…ka…" he croaked in response as the girl knelt down next him. "I…I'm…sorry…I couldn't…"

"Save your strength," she whispered as she tried to untangle the barbed wire holding him to the frame. Numerous nasty cuts later she succeeded and gently lowered the bird to the ground. "It's okay, Hawkmon. It wasn't your fault."

The mutilated Digimon's only response was a series of hacking coughs as his life slowly ebbed away.

"Taomon!" Rika cried out and looked desperately at her partner. "There has to be something we can do for him!"

"I am afraid not," the kitsune replied softly. "He is too far gone. My magic is incapable of doing anything now but prolonging his suffering."

"No…" the girl whispered to herself and stared sadly at Hawkmon. _There has to be something I can do – I can't just let him die! Please, just let me save him. Please…_

Rika gasped as she felt herself being drawn into her bond with Taomon once again. Thinking that her partner had decided to give healing Hawkmon a try after all, she allowed herself to be drawn into the bond. A bright violet light began to build up around the wounded Digimon, illuminating every corner of the dark chamber. As the light washed over Hawkmon his wounds began to heal – his bones snapped back into place, his beak was made whole, his toes and claws grew back and the dark red of bloodstains was replaced with the brighter red of his feathers. As the light washed over his head, the little Digimon arched his back and inhaled sharply, his eyes flickering open for a second before drifting closed again.

"And you said you couldn't help him!" Rika chuckled with a relieved smile, feeling surprisingly revitalized despite what must have been an incredibly draining spell.

Taomon gave her Tamer an odd look before replying.

"That wasn't me."

* * *

7:59p.m.

"**Desolation Claw!**" Cyberdramon and Ryo roared, launching a wave of energy that tore clean through the ceiling of the sewer tunnel, revealing the strange Earth hanging in the night sky. The dragon leapt out of the hole, his three passengers gripped tightly in his claws, and set off towards Phoenix Tower at a run. Fortunately, thanks to Takato's navigation, they had emerged from the ground only a hundred metres from the massive structure. Within seconds they were through the shattered double doors at the front of the tower and into the lobby, where they were met by Taomon.

"Took you long enough," the kitsune muttered. "Come on, I'll take you down to the basement. The others are waiting for us."

Less than a minute later, the quintet emerged into the middle of an enormous, brightly-lit chamber lined with girders and columns. At one end of the room was a set of metal double doors, each one little more than a slab of metal twenty feet high and ten wide. In front of the doors stood Kazu, Andromon and Rika, the latter cradling the unmoving form of Hawkmon in her arms.

"You got the doors open yet?" Ryo asked as Cyberdramon rushed over to the group.

"What does it look like?" Kazu and Andromon growled in reply, a loud click coming from the doors a few seconds later. "Done!" they announced, Kazu collapsing onto his backside as he wiped a thick sheen of sweat away from his forehead.

"Is that Hawkmon? Is he okay?" Takato asked as he caught sight of the birdlike Digimon.

"He'll be fine," Rika replied quietly as the massive steel doors swung slowly open.

"Was there anyone else…?" the boy began, trailing off as Rika turned a vivid shade of green and shook her head.

"There…no, there wasn't…"

"I doubt you could have even made a single whole Digimon out of what we found," Taomon snarled, barely-controlled rage colouring her tone. "We'd better get moving. The enemy will have restored some form of basic communications by now and will have figured out that something is wrong."

"You're right," Ryo nodded in agreement as his partner set off down the long, metal-lined tunnel at a run, the others swiftly joining him as the doors swung shut once again.

"Uh, guys? I had a thought…" Takato began hesitantly. "What's to stop them from following us down this tunnel?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Kazu chuckled in reply as his partner tapped one finger twice sharply against his shoulder armour. "Me and Andromon set up a little surprise for them…"

* * *

As dozens of Guardromon poured through the doors to Phoenix Tower, the power cut out throughout the entire building. Seconds later, an enormous explosion tore through the structure five floors above the ground, another fireball blossoming into existence ten floors further up on the opposite side of the tower. Several more bombs detonated at precisely-planned intervals up the building, alternating between the north and south sides. As the final explosion rocked the structure, a horrifying groaning sound echoed from the overstressed girders and Phoenix tower began to collapse in on itself, breaking into fragments that rained down onto the massive courtyard at its base. When the dust cleared, over 150 Guardromon and 24 Mekanorimon had been crushed like paper cups, the only monument to their deaths being a field of rubble and a few mangled girders.


	32. Chapter 32

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Two: A Friend in Need**

Monday 15th November – 5:00a.m.

Sovereign Level, Zhuqiaomon's Prison

"Get up," a voice growled in Steph's ear, rousing her from yet another nightmare.

"W-what?" she mumbled and rubbed at her eyes, yelping quietly in shock as she moved her hands away and found herself nose-to-teeth with Caturamon. "What time is it?" the girl asked groggily when her heart rate had slowed back to more normal levels.

"Irrelevant," the canine snapped and paced out of the cell, obviously expecting Steph to follow him.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she jogged to catch up.

"Not we – you," Caturamon replied with an evil glint in his eye. "You and your partner are going on a little walk."

* * *

Mountain Level – 3:43p.m.

"This is it," SargeCommandramon declared as he ordered the rest of his squad to stop with a series of hand motions. "This gate will take you right into the heart of Zhuqiaomon's lands, much further in than the piece of junk you were planning on travelling through."

"Thank you," Leomon replied with a respectful nod, the rest of the group adding their own thanks as they glanced around at their surroundings.

The Commandramon had led them deep into a ravine fifty metres long and ten wide. Sheer rock walls rose up several hundred metres into the air on either side, the sun's rays barely visible over the cliffs in front of them. The gate itself was concealed behind a set of obsidian double doors over fifty feet tall, their massive faces covered with ornately-carved images of fire and destruction, a massive phoenix dominating the centre of the fresco. A flickering orange glow could be seen emanating from the miniscule crack between the colossal doors and a faint crackling noise whispered softly to all those present.

"I'm guessing it was Zhuqs who commissioned the doors," Terriermon remarked drily, earning a chuckle from SargeCommandramon.

"Aye, it was. The Dragon Emperor keeps 'em around as a reminder of what we face – an arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic psychopath with the firepower to level a continent."

"So how do we get to the portal itself?" Cam asked, impatient to be on the move again.

"Watch and learn, boy," the dragon replied and lit his cigar with a silver Zippo lighter. After taking a few puffs, he began to walk slowly towards the titanic portal. When he came within reach of the doors, he took the cigar from his mouth and stubbed it out on one of the engraved phoenix's toes.

The effect was instant and appropriately dramatic. A line of liquid fire began running along the door from where the cigar had touched it, outlining the engravings one at a time in blazing orange. The fire moved across the door slowly at first, speeding up and brightening as it spread until every single carved flame was burning with real fire, both doors looking more like columns of fire than anything else by this point. With a rumbling groan, the doors swung slowly open to reveal an eight-metre wide circular portal hovering just above the ground that looked to be made of the same liquid fire as filled the carvings on the doors.

"Whoa…" Jeri breathed, squeezing Kenta's hand unconsciously.

"Say what you want about Zhuqiaomon – he sure knows how to impress his visitors," the green-haired boy chuckled and squeezed her hand in return.

"Are we sure that thing is safe?" Henry asked as he studied the flaming portal carefully. "It looks a little…fiery."

"It's safe," SargeCommandramon replied cheerfully. "At least, I think it is. We've never had to use it before."

"Very reassuring," Gaomon muttered sarcastically.

"Well, it _should _be safe. Zhuqiaomon intended to use it as a backdoor into the Dramon Kingdom for his armies, so it wouldn't make sense if walking through it incinerated you."

"That would lead to some rather high attrition rates," Leomon agreed with a chuckle and padded slowly over to the gate. "I say we try it. Any objections?"

There were none, and the Tamers and Digimon gathered around the leonine warrior in front of the portal. Taking a deep breath, Henry and Terriermon were the first ones to step forwards, disappearing into the fireball with a conspicuous lack of piercing screams or spontaneous combustion. The others followed close behind, Cam and Gaomon stepping forward next and Leomon stepping through last of all, Jeri, Kenta and MarineAngemon perched on his shoulders.

* * *

Sovereign Level – 3:46p.m.

Steph let out a muted whimper of pain as her left foot slipped sideways into a crack, twisting her ankle painfully. This had to be the hundredth time this had happened to the girl on her ten hour long trek across the harsh volcanic wasteland that was Zhuqiaomon's realm. The terrain consisted almost entirely of cracked, scorched ashlands with a few pools of lava and occasional jagged, rocky peaks providing the only change in scenery. The sky was even more monotonous than the ground, a single tiny, star-like object the only item breaking up the monotonous scab-red expanse.

"Are you alright?" Vajramon asked as he always did when he noticed that the girl had stopped.

"Fine," Steph replied tersely as she tried to pull her foot free from the crevasse, realizing suddenly that an uncomfortable amount of heat was being conducted through her trainer's sole and into her skin. Redoubling her efforts, she managed to get the offending foot free, but left the shoe behind. She bent down to retrieve it, only to retract her hand as she realized that the sole had melted onto the rock. "What the…?"

"We must be over a lava flow," her bovine companion muttered in a worried tone and glanced at the girl's foot, now bare apart from a thin, dirty white sock. "We should turn back and try heading through another valley. It is too dangerous to try and proceed through this one."

The blonde-haired girl nodded slowly, staring dumbly at her ruined footwear. As Vajramon began trotting back the way they had come, she set off after him at a slow walk, only to stop after a few paces clutching her left foot in agony and trying not to cry out as she stood on an incredibly hot, dangerously-sharp rock.

"Stephanie?" Vajramon asked with a touch of concern as he noticed that the girl had stopped moving again, trotting back to her side when he saw the tears running down her cheeks and the blood staining her sock. "What happened?"

"My foot," she whimpered, clutching the wounded appendage and trying desperately not to break down and cry properly.

"Can you walk?"

"I…I think so…" she replied, getting to her feet and yelping in agony as an especially-hot patch of ground seared her skin through the fabric of her sock. Collapsing to the floor, she finally lost her battle for self-control and began to sob quietly.

"Erm, Stephanie?" Vajramon asked hesitantly, blinking in surprise as the normally-timid child fixed him with a glare that could melt steel.

"WHAT?" she screamed, tears streaming from her eyes. "What do you want now? Are you gonna tell me to get up, keep walking? Well I WON'T! I don't care anymore! Nothing you can say will make me keep walking! I don't even care if you take out those stupid swords and threaten to kill me! I wouldn't even care if you did it! I DON'T CARE!"

The Deva stood there patiently as the girl ranted, only speaking up when it was clear she was done. "In that case I shall have to carry you."

Steph let out an indignant yelp as the bull gathered her up in his arms and set off walking again, totally ignoring her struggles and protests. After about a minute, she settled down into moody silence, much to the relief of Vajramon.

* * *

Sovereign Level – 5:37p.m.

About two hours of walking later, the Deva came to a halt at the edge of a rocky cliff and gently placed his charge down on the ground. "We will rest here," he stated matter-of-factly and shrugged his massive backpack off of his shoulders. "I shall set up camp and get a fire started. It gets surprisingly cold at night out here."

"This place has a night?" Steph asked with a confused frown.

"Yes. The sky doesn't darken or change in any way, but it gets very cold very suddenly. That should be happening in about twenty minutes or so," Vajramon replied as he began to set up a small circle of stones to act as a makeshift fire pit. "I'll need the fire set up by then or you'll freeze to death."

"Like you'd care," the girl muttered under her breath. The Deva didn't reply verbally, instead fixing her with a glare before continuing with his work. "Sorry," Steph whispered eventually, a jolt of surprise running through her as she realized she meant it.

"It's fine," Vajramon sighed. "I don't expect you to like me – in fact, I expect you to hate me."

"I, um…" she stammered, not knowing how to reply. The pair descended into awkward silence for several minutes until the campsite was fully set-up, a small fire crackling away happily at the centre.

"Here," Vajramon muttered and threw a coarse blanket to the girl. "This should help keep you warm. You'll need it soon."

"Um, thanks," she replied, wrapping the itchy fabric around herself.

"How is your foot?"

"Fine," Steph answered him automatically, cursing silently as her consciousness began to register the pain coming from her cuts and burns once again.

"Liar," the bull chuckled and reached into the backpack, throwing her an unmarked silver tube of cream. "Rub that into the wounds. It'll dull the pain."

The girl did as he said, blinking in surprise as the pain immediately faded away. "That stuff acts fast…thanks."

"Don't mention it."

They lapsed into another long silence, Steph staring sadly out at the blasted wastelands below. After a while, the air grew suddenly cold and the girl drew her blanket closer around herself as a shiver ran through her body.

_Note to self: never wear a skirt in the desert at night… _she thought to herself. _Right, because I forgot how I was kidnapped along with a wardrobe full of clothes to choose from…_

"Vajramon?" she began hesitantly. "Why do you…why don't you…why are you so…"

"Why don't I treat you like scum, like Caturamon or Makuramon do?" he finished for her, continuing when he received a nod in response. "It is a long story."

"Do I look like I have anything better to do?"

"Good point," he conceded with a dry chuckle. "Most of the other Devas believe…or _believed _that humans are scum. That you are pathetic weaklings who deserve to be exterminated and your resources appropriated for our use. Union of a Tamer with a Digimon is regarded as the ultimate insult by Zhuqiaomon and the other Devas. I do not believe this, and neither does Antylamon."

"So why do you fight for Zhuqiaomon?"

"Because I made a promise to somebody. Somebody very dear to me…" Vajramon replied, a look of heartrending grief forcing its way onto his face. "Not long after we were created, Antylamon and I grew intensely dissatisfied with our lots in life. At first we took pride in our status as the swords of the might Phoenix God, but even blind faith can only justify so many atrocities. We had planned to run away and live in peace, away from Zhuqiaomon's madness, but one thing got in the way of our plans. I fell in love with one of my fellow Devas – Pajiramon.

"When Pajiramon found out about my plans to leave, she wasn't angry. She was just…hurt. She was one of the most dedicated of Zhuqiaomon's servants and would never turn away from him, yet she could not bear the thought of having to face me in battle. I felt the same way, and I knew that she would never come with me so I abandoned my plan to leave. Antylamon knew that she would never get away on her own and instead brought her doubts before Zhuqiaomon. The manipulative bastard twisted her around his little talon, playing on her loyalty and good nature and convincing her that her cause was just, that his great, divine plan would be revealed in time.

"Pajiramon…" the bull trailed off, his eyes growing damp with unshed tears. "Pajiramon was slain in battle with the Tamers. Makuramon sacrificed her to create a big enough distraction to kidnap you. He threw away her life to save his own skin."

"Oh, God…" Steph whispered, desperately searching for the right words to respond with. "If Pajiramon…if Makuramon did that to her then why didn't you…?"

"I would like nothing more than to reduce that maggot of a Digimon to mincemeat," Vajramon snarled, his expression softening after a few seconds. "But Pajiramon…the day before…before her last mission, we were together in our chambers in Zhuqiaomon's tower. She made me promise her that if she were to die in battle, then I would remain true to Zhuqiaomon. That I would continue to fight against the 'Abominations'. That I would avenge her death…"

The bull fell silent as tears began streaming down his cheeks.

"SHE KNEW!" he roared suddenly. "She KNEW that she was going on a suicide mission! That she wasn't coming back! She knew that she was being sent to her grave, and Zhuqiaomon's brainwashing made her leap into it gladly!"

"Vajra-"

"But that's not the worst part!" he growled. "She knew that I would keep my promise, that this damnable code of honour would force me to keep my word against my better judgment! I'm tied to that worthless, despicable worm of a Sovereign more strongly than ever now!"

"You can't…Pajiramon tricked you into making that promise!" Steph said softly. "You can't really expect yourself to keep it. And what does your code of honour say about kidnapping children?"

"What do you think it says?" Vajramon snapped. "My code of honour tells me to follow my conscience and protect the weak while it forces me to keep my word, to follow a mad Sovereign with a god complex."

"Then find a new code!" the girl suggested desperately. "If your code has forced you into a corner like this then it's not worth following!"

"I could do that no more easily than you could stop breathing. And it is not like I've been left without _any _options," the Deva chuckled sadly, his ears pricking up suddenly as a strange whining began to echo off of the cliffs, quickly building up into a full-fledged screaming. "This is all that I can do for you."

* * *

Earlier that day – 3:46p.m.

"Well, isn't this just lovely?" Gaomon muttered to himself as he gazed out at the volcanic wasteland that stretched in every direction seemingly to infinity, their vantage point from atop a set of red cliffs affording the Tamers and their partners with a soul-destroyingly monotonous view of the landscape.

"I wouldn't exactly recommend it as a holiday destination," Leomon admitted with a wry grin. "Hmmm…this doesn't look anything like the part of the Sovereign Level we visited last time we were here. Any idea where we should go?"

"Sage gave us a couple of landmarks to look out for, but…" Henry began and looked around slowly. "I'm not seeing any of them."

"Maybe me and MachGaogamon should take a look around," Cam suggested.

"Will you be alright on your own?" Jeri asked with a concerned frown.

"We can move pretty fast on our own – fast enough to scout the area pretty damn quickly. Plus we can get away from any trouble we can't handle."

"Sounds like a plan," Leomon nodded.

"Great! Now, remind me what we're looking for again?"

"Keep an eye out for a mountain with eight peaks, a canyon shaped like a number '3' and a statue of a skeleton pointing at the sky," Henry replied with a small grin and shook his head slowly.

* * *

Minutes later, MachGaogamon was tearing across the wasteland with his engines at full power, hurtling along only a few metres above the ground.

_At least it's pretty flat around here – makes it nice and easy to see, _Cam thought to himself with a wry grin. _Well, apart from the mountains. Now, let's see…_

_Is that a-no, wait, only five peaks._

_Oh, is that…? Damn, that's not a skeleton._

The next few minutes continued like this, the boy finding himself completely unable to locate any of the landmarks Henry had told him about. _Maybe if we had a little more altitude… _he thought to himself.

"Hey, could you try flying a little higher? I can't really see from dow-WAH!" Cam yelped as his partner's engines suddenly cut out and the werewolf skidded to a halt behind a nearby boulder.

"Be quiet!" MachGaogamon growled quietly. "There's somebody on top of that cliff up there."

"Have they noticed us?" the Tamer whispered in response, receiving a slow shake of the head from his partner.

"I don't think so."

"I'm gonna take a look," Cam declared and climbed onto the canine's shoulders, poking his head cautiously over the top of the boulder.

"What do you see?"

"There's a Digimon – looks kinda like a bull crossed with a centaur," the boy replied, squinting to try and catch a glimpse of something behind the bull. "I think he's talking to somebody, but I can't see who."

"We should get out of here," his partner advised. "We cannot afford to risk detection."

"Alright," Cam agreed and was just about to climb off of the werewolf's shoulders when the unidentified Digimon bent down to pick something up. A look of shock plastered itself across the young Tamer's face as the bull turned and he caught sight of what he was carrying. "That's _Steph_!"

"Are you sure?"

"How many other blonde-haired girls in glasses could be running around the Digital World?"

"You have a point," MachGaogamon agreed, taking a peek himself before slumping back down with a sigh. "That's Steph alright. I don't know anybody else who would wear a purple skirt with an orange jacket…"

"So what do we do?"

"In all likelihood, that Digimon is a Deva. We could probably take him on our own, but…"

"I know what you mean," Cam nodded. "My D-Arc can't get a lock from here, so we don't even know the first thing about him!"

"We should go get the others and form a plan. They should be easy enough to track with Rapidmon's sensors."

* * *

4:04p.m.

"Cam and MachGaogamon have been gone for an awful long time," Kenta said hesitantly, breaking the awkward silence that had descended on the group.

"They'll be fine," Henry reassured the boy. "MachGaogamon's not stupid. He won't let them get spotted."

"Wish we could say the same for Cam," Terriermon chuckled from atop his Tamer's head. "Then again, I guess his head's thick enough for MachGaogamon to use it as a shield if they run into trouble…"

"Terriermon…"

"What? He's not around to hear me."

"Guess again," Jeri giggled and pointed behind the rabbit, who turned to see the black-haired Tamer shoot a sarcastic glare in his direction.

"Uh, momentai?"

"Kicking your arse can wait until later. I have good news!" Cam announced cheerfully.

"You found the landmarks?" Leomon asked hopefully.

"Even better," the boy replied with a grin. "I found Steph!"

"What?" Henry exclaimed. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"I saw her a few minutes' flight away from here. She was with this weird bull Digimon in red armour."

"That sounds like Vajramon," Kenta said thoughtfully.

"He's the bull Deva," Jeri explained. "We ran into him when we came to the Digital World to rescue Calumon."

"Looks like you guessed right," Cam nodded to his partner. "Terriermon, can you use your sensors to track them if you Digivolve to Rapidmon?"

"No problem," the rabbit replied. "I can't wait to get my hands on that no-good, low-life scumbag of a Digimon!"

"Someone's awfully protective," Leomon teased gently. "Does Terriermon have a little crush?"

"Ow, my sanity…" MachGaogamon groaned and shook his head slowly.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Kenta asked. "I mean, are we just gonna launch an all-out attack or what?"

"We should try and hem them in somewhere, or wait until they stop for the night," Henry suggested. "That way there's very little chance of them getting away."

"Agreed, now let's get moving," Leomon nodded. "We don't want them to get any further ahead than they already are."

* * *

5:02p.m.

"Slow down," Rapidmon called to MachGaogamon, the canine speeding up as Vajramon passed out of sight behind a small cliff. "We can't let him see us."

"I know, but I don't like letting him out of my sight."

"Well, he's not out of _my _sight," the android replied and tapped the side of his head with the 'hand' at the end of his right missile launcher-arm. "These sensors are pretty sensitive."

"Hmmm…" the werewolf grumbled, but slowed down all the same.

The two Ultimates carried on for a few more minutes, their partners riding on their backs, the others riding Leomon who was following close behind at a run. Suddenly, the contact on Rapidmon's sensor screen began to flicker and jump at random.

"Wonderful…" the rabbit sighed sarcastically. "My sensors are picking up some interference from something. I'm gonna try and get a little closer. You mind taking care of Henry for a little while? He's no trouble – he's house trained and everything!"

"Rapidmon…" the boy sighed and rolled his eyes as he hopped across onto MachGaogamon's back.

"Be careful," Cam nodded with a small grin. "We can't let him see us…"

"Oh, a wise guy, eh?" Rapidmon muttered and increased thrust to his engines, drawing ahead of the black-haired boy and his partner. As he began to loop around the rocky cliff Vajramon had passed behind minutes earlier, the blip began to clear itself up. "There we go…shit!"

The android reversed his engines suddenly, throwing himself back behind the corner he had just rounded as he saw Vajramon walking along a small clifftop a few hundred metres away.

_Damn it! _he cursed mentally. _I can't believe I made such a stupid, ridiculous…wait…what…?_

Confusion washed over Rapidmon as the blip on his sensor screen continued moving at the exact same pace, not pausing or faltering for even a split second. _Did he not see me? I don't see how he couldn't have – he was looking practically right at me!_

A sense of relief flooded the rabbit's mind as the bull continued walking, apparently oblivious to his presence. "That was too close," he whispered to himself and settled down into a sitting position, waiting for his friends to catch up while keeping a close eye on his sensor screen.

* * *

5:22p.m.

"I think I've found a good candidate for an ambush site," Henry called as he shook himself free of his mental bond with Rapidmon, the sensor display overlaid on his vision vanishing immediately. "This valley opens out into a small area of open ground surrounded by high walls on three sides and a cliff on the other. There's only two ways in or out of it."

"Sounds perfect," Leomon agreed.

"The way Vajramon's heading, it looks like he's gonna get to the choke point before nightfall," Rapidmon informed them. "Me, Henry, Cam and MachGaogamon can loop around and cut him off from one end while you guys keep going in this direction."

"He'll have nowhere to run," Cam chuckled darkly and cracked his knuckles. "Let's do it!"

* * *

Vajramon's Campsite – 6:05p.m.

"All you can…what do you mean?" Steph asked with a confused look that transformed into outright bewilderment as the screaming echoing off of the valley walls finally registered in her brain. "Wait, that sounds almost like a jet en-"

"Freeze, Deva!" MachGaogamon and Cam snarled as one as the werewolf shot out of the mouth of the northern exit from the small plateau, Rapidmon and Henry half a second behind him. Vajramon drew his twin swords and held them up in a guard position as Leomon and MarineAngemon cut off his only other route of escape. The bull was now trapped, a several-hundred metre drop from the top of the cliff at his back.

"Hand over the girl," the leonine warrior growled and raised his sword.

"I'm afraid I can't just give her to you," Vajramon replied cordially. "I swore an oath to serve the lord Zhuqiaomon until my dying breath."

"You don't need to throw your life away needlessly!" Henry protested from atop his partner's shoulder.

"My life was forfeit as soon as I let myself get ambushed by you," the bull chuckled darkly, a glint of mischief in his eye. "The Divine Lord Zhuqiaomon will have my head if I lose one of his precious humans."

"You can't really believe that nutjob is a god!" Cam spluttered incredulously. "He's just a spiteful racist with a god complex!"

"Spiteful, eh?" Vajramon snorted in amusement. "Then he should definitely approve of my next move…**TERRA BLADE!**"

The Deva lashed out with his twin blades, striking the ground and shattering the rock to either side of him. An ear-splitting rumbling echoed off of the valley walls as the twin fissures arced around, heading back to the edge of the cliff at lightning speed. A horrified shriek escaped Steph's mouth as the ground collapsed from under her, a ten-metre wide fragment of rock detaching from the cliff face and casting the girl and her captor into the abyss.

Rapidmon was moving before Vajramon's swords had even reached the ground, accelerating as quickly as he could in an attempt to reach the falling girl. Despite his engines' screams of protest and the warbling of alarms in his mind warning of overheating, he managed to reach her before she had fallen more than a foot. Throwing his engines suddenly into reverse, Rapidmon managed to launch himself backwards far enough to land on solid ground before his engines gave out with a spluttering cough. Before he landed, the android spared a single glance down at the falling Vajramon and felt confusion flood his circuits as he saw the expression on the Deva's face.

He was smiling.

* * *

As soon as Rapidmon set Steph down on the ground, she broke down in tears of pure relief and gripped the nearest living thing (which just happened to be Henry) in a death-hug worthy of Rumiko Nonaka.

"It's alright," the blue-haired boy whispered as he hugged the girl back, her tears quickly creating an enormous wet patch on his shoulder. "You're safe now, you're with friends."

"Oh, god…" Steph sobbed. "I was…so scared I…they made us do…go on these runs and…and I talked back to one of them and they…"

"Sshh," he shushed her gently. "It's okay, just take deep breaths. You don't have to worry about that anymore."

Several minutes later, Henry's attempts to comfort her seemed to be having an effect and the shaky sobs wracking her form were quickly replaced by shivers caused by the chill air. With a small smile, Cam pulled off his hooded jacket and slipped it around her shoulders as she released Henry from his hug, the massive item of clothing easily engulfing most of her body.

"Thanks," she croaked, a small, grateful smile gracing her features as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Sorry for getting all…you know…"

"Don't be ridiculous," a now de-Digivolved Gaomon reassured her gently. "It's perfectly natural to be emotional after what you must have been through."

"Pipipipuh!" MarineAngemon added cheerfully, punctuating what was presumably some form of reassuring comment with a volley of pink heart-shaped bubbles.

"Wait, was that…?" Steph trailed off as she noticed the presence of Kenta, Jeri and their respective partners for the first time. "Konnichiwa, Kenta!"

"Hey there!" he replied with a small wave. "Long time no see!"

"Erm, okay…" Steph mumbled in confusion and glanced at Henry for help. "How come I can understand what he's saying?"

"You can?" Henry asked with a thoughtful frown. "Interesting…"

"It is likely something to do with the Digital World," Leomon sighed and rolled his eyes in minor exasperation. "While they're here, non-Tamed Digimon don't technically know or speak in any human language – they communicate using a data-based language. They only gain a script to translate this language into a given human language when they bio-emerge."

"In that case, I guess it's possible that all spoken words in the Digital World are translated into the original Digimon language…" Terriermon began with a contemplative look.

"And then re-translated into whatever language a listener can understand!" his Tamer finished. "That's pretty incredible."

"Um, I hate to interrupt the scientific debate," Steph began hesitantly as she fought to suppress her shivering. "But can we set up some sort of camp, please? I'm _freezing_!"

* * *

A few minutes later, the Tamers and their partners were gathered around a newly-made campfire against the rock wall at the "back" of the rocky plateau, Vajramon's campfire having gone over the edge of the cliff with him. Their tents were set up a few metres away in a small hollow in the wall, giving them some cover from any prying eyes. Henry and Cam spent a little while explaining some of the oddities of the Digital World to her, but when it became clear that Steph was sufficiently-recovered to talk properly, conversation quickly turned to her time in captivity and the state of her fellow captives.

"So…I guess that's about it," she finished quietly as she ended her account of what Makuramon and the other Devas had put her and the others through.

"That's…" Cam broke the long silence that had descended, trailing off as he failed to find the right words to express his horror.

"Evil," Gaomon finished for him, his voice a low, menacing growl. "I knew Zhuqiaomon was insane, but to put children through what is tantamount to _torture_…"

"He has to pay," his Tamer snarled, cracking his knuckles angrily.

"He _will _pay," Henry stated, his voice filled with so much cold, barely-contained rage that it sent a shiver down the spines of his friends. "I'll make him pay."

"Well, at least we can look on the bright side," Terriermon chuckled nervously in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. "At least the Devas aren't the brightest of goons…"

"What do you mean?" Jeri asked.

"Well, think about it. Both me and Gaomon can fly in our Ultimate forms and we're two of the fastest Digimon around, but Vajramon decided to throw Steph off a cliff that was high enough for us to easily be able to catch her."

"Actually, he's right," the blue-furred canine agreed with a thoughtful frown. "It does seem to be quite an odd move when he could have just used his swords in a more…_direct _manner."

As Gaomon spoke, Steph felt a sudden revelation was hover her as she remembered Vajramon's last words to her.

"_This is all that I can do for you."_

"He let me go," she whispered in shock.

"What?" Cam asked disbelievingly. "Why would he let you go?"

"Actually, that kinda makes sense," Terriermon said hesitantly and stared at the floor, perfectly mirroring his Tamer's expression of deep contemplation and confusion. "I mean, when my sensors kept losing him and I went ahead to try and get a better signal, there was a moment where I was _sure _he'd seen me, but he just kept on walking."

"And he did say his life was forfeit as soon as he _let himself _get ambushed," Gaomon noted. "I assumed that it was just a figure of speech, but maybe it was a subtle hint."

"But why would he let you go?" Cam insisted. "I mean, he worked for Zhuqiaomon. He had to hate humans."

"Actually, I don't think he did," Steph replied quietly, going on to relate the story the bull had told her about his dissatisfaction with the Sovereign and love for Pajiramon.

"Well, he was telling the truth about Pajiramon's fate at least," Gaomon muttered and glanced at the floor. "I was the one who killed her. She and Indramon were sent out as decoys to allow Makuramon and Majiramon to capture you and the others."

"I…I can't believe he'd…all because she…" Jeri stammered, looking close to tears.

"Perhaps we should leave it there," Leomon suggested gently. "It's getting late and it's been a hard day. We'll need to be refreshed for tomorrow if we're going to find our way to the meeting point with the others."

"You should probably eat something before you go to bed," Cam added with a small grin. "It'll take care of all those cuts and burns, plus the energy drain will make sure you sleep through the whole night."

"That'll be a nice change…" the girl replied with a tiny, sad smile.


	33. Chapter 33

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Rendezvous**

Tuesday 16th November – 9:02p.m.

Ashlands, Sovereign Level

Takato shifted and turned on Growlmon's back as he cast a nervous glance back over his shoulder at the fiery portal he and his companions had just emerged from, half-expecting to see a battalion of Guardromon come marching through after them. He was only mildly reassured when no such army appeared, continuing to look back every minute or so until the portal was out of sight.

"Wow, Goggles, you're even jumpier than Gaomon on caffeine," Rika chuckled quietly from Kyubimon's back as she noticed the boy's discomfort.

"Heh, sorry," Takato replied with a sheepish grin, a small laugh escaping his lips as he recalled the surreal sight of the normally-dignified Gaomon leaping around Henry's bedroom like a crazed hamster. "Cam really shouldn't have introduced him to coffee – I heard he didn't sleep for two days!"

"Maybe I should give some to sleeping beauty over here," the redhead suggested sardonically, a hint of concern creeping into her voice as she glanced down at the still-unconscious form of Hawkmon cradled in her arms.

"Uh, what actually happened to him?" the begoggled Tamer asked with a small frown. "I mean, I haven't exactly had time to ask what with all the running and hiding we've been doing."

"We certainly were busy," Kyubimon agreed. After they had escaped from Gear, the group had spent several hours on the run from Guardromon patrols that had been dotted around at the far end of their escape tunnel. They had been forced to go through the same nerve-wracking ordeal at around six a.m. that morning when a squad of Mekanorimon had stumbled across their campsite inside a small cave. Still exhausted from the previous day's exertions and not wanting to risk a fight, Andromon had hacked the sensors of the lead Mekanorimon and redirected the entire squad to a valley several miles away while he and the others had slipped away covertly.

"Rika? You don't look so good…" Growlmon noted as the girl glanced blinked rapidly and clenched her fists. He was right – she had turned an odd shade of green and looked to be in real danger of throwing up.

"I'm fine," she replied tersely and took a deep breath. "It's just that when we found Hawkmon he…he was in a pretty bad way."

"How bad?" Takato asked hesitantly, not entirely sure whether he wanted to know the answer.

"They…they'd tortured him. He was…"

"He was in worse shape than any living Digimon I have ever seen," Kyubimon said softly, saving her Tamer from having to finish her sentence. "Zhuqiaomon's minions had…_desecrated_ him in ways I never imagined possible. We were barely able to heal him."

"The place was a slaughterhouse," Rika whispered. "There were dozens of other Digimon in there and…there was nothing left of them."

"I…damn…" Takato sighed with a shudder of revulsion. "Rika, I-"

"I'm scared," the redhead interrupted in a barely-audible whisper. "The guys who did this are the same ones who have my little sister. Those bastards have Sam…"

Suddenly, Rika's head snapped up, her eyes blazing with barely-contained fury.

"If Zhuqiaomon or his little slaves have hurt even one hair on her head," she began, her voice practically a feral growl. "I'll make them wish they'd never been born. I'll rip them apart byte by byte until they're nothing but spare data!"

Takato flinched as he felt a wave of irrational fear wash over him. Unlike the last time Rika had spoken words similar to those, he could clearly see that they were not a mask of meaningless bravado intended to cover up her own fears or insecurities. She meant every single word of it.

"You know, that's pretty much exactly what Renamon said after IceDevimon grabbed you in France," Takato noted with a small smile, making a desperate attempt to lighten the mood.

"Great minds think alike," the kitsune chuckled, eliciting a small smile from her Tamer.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Sovereign Level – 9:03a.m.

"Good morning sleepy head," Henry said with a small smile as Steph finally woke from her sleep.

"Morning already?" she grumbled reflexively, despite feeling more refreshed than she had since before being kidnapped. "What time is it?"

"A little after nine," the blue-haired boy replied.

"I was asleep for _twelve hours_?" Steph gasped in surprise. "I haven't slept that long in years! I didn't hold you guys up, did I?"

"Actually, no," Terriermon grinned from atop his Tamer's head. "Cam and MachGaogamon have been out scouting all morning – they only just got back."

"They find anything?"

"Hell yeah," Cam chuckled as he walked over to the trio. "We finally found the stupid statue where we're meant to meet the others. It's about an hour's walk from here, less for Rapidmon or MachGaogamon."

"Great, more walking," the girl sighed with a small smile to show she was joking.

"Actually, you won't have to walk," Gaomon corrected her as he joined the group. "I am perfectly capable of carrying both you and Cam as Gaogamon."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. The additional weight is tiny in comparison to what I have to carry anyway…"

"Hey!" Cam protested indignantly.

"You nearly threw my back out the first time you got on me!"

"That's 'cause I'm solid muscle, mate. Solid muscle!"

"That would explain his lack of a brain…" Terriermon muttered with a grin.

"Hey!"

* * *

Zhuqiaomon's Prison – 9:24a.m.

"Caturamon!" a manic, high-pitched voice called out and the bulldog turned with a sigh of irritation.

"What is it, Makuramon?" he growled impatiently as the monkey bounded over to him.

"I bring grave news regarding the fate of our _dear_ brother Vajramon," Makuramon replied, injecting the sentence with more than a hint of sarcasm. "It would appear that the incompetent fool managed to get himself killed by the Abominations! They even took back his human!"

"Oh my," Caturamon gasped with mock surprise and horror. "How terrible! And it was you who sent him out on his little walk – you must feel so, _so _guilty. If only someone had pointed out what a bad idea it was…"

"Alright, you've made your point," the smaller Deva grumbled in response. "Why don't you just go all-out and start chanting 'told you so, told you so' like some newly-hatched Botamon?"

"Don't tempt me…" the canine chuckled. "So, what else do you want? You'd never come to tell me that if you didn't have something to distract me from gloating."

"You know me so well, _dear brother_," Makuramon sneered and rolled his eyes. "In his infinite wisdom, the Lord Zhuqiaomon has agreed to an idea I had that may make the remaining children easier to break."

"Oh, I'm intrigued," Caturamon said with a feral grin – a grin that only widened as Makuramon explained his plan.

* * *

"W-when do you think Steph is gonna get back?" Suzie asked her cellmate with a small shiver. "Do you think she's okay?"

"I don't know…" Sam replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You don't think they…kiwwed her do you?" the half-Chinese girl whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears at the thought. "I mean, she said that Vajwamon said that-"

"Shh!" Sam hushed her as she heard voices and footsteps echoing from nearby. "Somebody's coming!"

"Such a waste…" a voice that the girls recognized as belonging to Caturamon sighed. "I can't believe the foolish child refused to cooperate."

"It couldn't be helped," Makuramon's voice replied. "These humans are just so stubborn. Vajramon had no choice but to kill the girl – she was obviously a lost cause."

Sam's eyes widened in shock and Suzie let out a small whimper as the Deva's words echoed through the dark halls. _Steph…dead?_

"I do hope we don't have to resort to such extreme measures with the other two. It's so hard to get hold of new humans," Caturamon growled.

"Well, if they don't break within the next couple of days, the Lord Zhuqiaomon has given us the green light to use some more…_extreme _methods," Makuramon cackled. "I almost hope they don't break – I want a chance to try out that shiny new torture chamber on the humans!"

"If only Vajramon's little pet was still alive – we could have tested it out on her, seen how much pain a human can take before dying…"

As the footsteps and voices of the two Devas receded into the distance, the girls sat there in silence for several long seconds, before Sam broke down in tears.

"Th-they killed her…" she whispered as her tears cut twin channels through the grime covering her face. "They killed Steph!"

"I d-don't wanna die!" Suzie wailed and curled up into the foetal position. "I don't w-wanna be t-t-tortured!"

As the two little girls huddled together and wept for their "dead" friend, Caturamon and Makuramon fought to suppress their laughter. The Devas were hiding just around a corner a few metres away from the children's cell.

"Oh, this is brilliant!" the monkey giggled. "I wish I could see the look on their faces…"

"As do I," Caturamon chuckled quietly. "If only our Lord would actually let us into the torture chamber…"

"Give it a little time, dear brother. I am sure that the right moment shall come soon."

* * *

Ashlands, Sovereign Level – 10:47a.m.

"I see the statue!" Ryo called from atop his partner's back as the dragon flew in small circles high above the rest of the group. "It looks like it's about half an hour's walk away."

"What about the others?" Rika asked as Cyberdramon landed in a small puff of ash a few metres away. "Any sign of them?"

"None," the boy replied. "But I doubt they'd just sit around out in the open if they were there. They'd be visible for miles around."

"Is there anywhere nearby where they could be hiding?" Takato asked with a hopeful look. "Like caves or hills or something?"

"There's some hills a few hundred metres away from the statue," Cyberdramon growled. "They may not have gotten this far into the Sovereign Level, though."

"He's right," Kazu agreed. "They aren't actually meant to get here until tomorrow."

"For that matter, neither are we," Andromon added. "If we hadn't have been forced to flee Gear so quickly, we wouldn't even have reached the Sovereign Level yet."

"If we can get here early, so can they," Kyubimon pointed out. "But if they are not there, we should probably hide up in the hills. We do not want to risk detection by Zhuqiaomon's forces, especially not in the heart of his little empire."

Andromon nodded and was about to reply when Growlmon stopped moving suddenly and started sniffing the ground.

"What is it boy?" Takato asked with a confused, wary look.

"I smell Digimon!" the enormous saurian replied.

"Are they enemies?"

"I don't think so. It smells like…like…"

"Dashing good looks with a hint of pure awesome?" a familiar voice called out from up ahead as Cam and Gaomon stepped out from behind a good-sized rock, the latter rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"How about over-inflated ego with a dash of incompetence?" Cyberdramon suggested. "So, where are the others?"

"Up in the hills behind the statue," Gaomon replied, frowning as he noticed the unconscious form of Hawkmon cradled in Rika's arms. "Who's that?"

"This would be Hawkmon," the redhead replied. "He helped us out in Gear, but got captured and beat up pretty bad by Zhuqiaomon's minions."

"Is he alright?"

"We think so," Kyubimon answered hesitantly. "But we're not entirely sure. We think we managed to heal most of the damage when we rescued him, but he still hasn't woken up."

"Speaking of rescue," Cam began with a massive grin. "We ran into an old friend yesterday – Steph was out on a forced march with one of the Devas, Vajramon."

"Is she okay?" Takato asked with a worried frown.

"Steph is, Vajramon isn't. He's dead and gone, while our good old Goldilocks is waiting with the others. She says she can lead us to Zhuqiaomon's prison and show us where Sam and Suzie are being kept."

"No way!" the begoggled Tamer gasped, matching his friend's grin. "That's awesome!"

"Damn straight," Rika agreed, a small grin forcing its way onto her face. "Is Steph okay? What did she say about Sam and Suzie?"

"Steph was okay – covered in cuts and bruises, but otherwise she was fine," Gaomon replied. "She says that the others had it worse than her, but were still in pretty good shape, all things considered."

A look of indescribable relief washed over Rika's face as the worst of her fears were dispelled. _She's okay… _she thought as one of her small, rare, genuine smiles found its way onto her face.

* * *

The Tamers were reunited less than half an hour later, and spent the next hour recounting all that had happened to them. As Henry finished his account of the rescue of Steph and the girl explained her theories as to Vajramon's motivations, a soft groan echoed through the cavern where they were sitting and the unconscious form of Hawkmon began to stir softly.

"What the…? Where…am I?" the red-and-white bird croaked hoarsely.

"Hawkmon, it's okay," Rika reassured him gently as she rushed to his side. "You're safe. I…me and Taomon managed to heal you up and get you out of Gear."

"I'm…healed?" the avian Digimon gasped in surprise, sitting up suddenly and inspecting himself for signs of injuries. "But I was…how did you…?"

"Magic," Renamon replied with a small chuckle, frowning as he tried to stand. "You should take it easy. You've been unconscious for almost a day and you might not have regained all of your strength."

"Maybe some food would help," Kenta suggested and grabbed a loaf of bread from Cam's backpack. "Here, eat this – it should help replenish some of your energy. Taomon's spell must have taken a lot out of you."

"Thank you," Hawkmon mumbled as he began rapidly tearing chunks out of the loaf with his beak. The bread was gone within seconds and the bird began to look much better. As he brushed the crumbs off of his feathers, Hawkmon finally noticed that he was in unfamiliar company. "Erm, I don't think we've been introduced…"

"Actually, we were, but you were too busy catching some Z's to remember it…" Terriermon chuckled, receiving a swift knuckle-rap to the head from his Tamer.

"Do you mind?" Henry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, we might as well start, then. I'm Henry and this is Terriermon – and before you ask, yes, he _is_ always like this."

"Hey! Just 'cause I'm short doesn't mean I won't kick your butt, Henry!"

"Unfortunately, the size of his ego more than makes up for his short stature," Gaomon muttered.

* * *

The Tamers set off again as soon as the introductions were done, Hawkmon accepting the invitation to accompany them. They headed south, away from the miniscule star-like dot in the sky that was the Earth and towards a mountain range that, Steph assured them, contained Zhuqiaomon's prison complex. The mood was light and spirits were high during the journey, the nearness of their goal placing almost everybody in a cheerful, talkative mood.

Hawkmon was the exception.

* * *

Sovereign Level – 4:45p.m.

_I wonder what's up with him, _Steph thought as she gazed at the silent, brooding form of Hawkmon. The little Digimon was sat atop Kyubimon's back and had barely said a word since they had set off almost four hours ago. _I bet he's pretty messed up considering what happened to his friends in the resistance. Maybe I should try to talk to him…_

An opportunity to talk quickly presented itself as the Tamers came across a gaping chasm that cut straight across the mouth of the canyon they were currently walking through. The chasm was much too wide for Taomon or MarineAngemon to float them across without causing severe exhaustion to both them and their Tamers – a dangerous prospect considering how deep they were into the Sovereign's territory. Most of the group stopped for a quick break while Rapidmon and MachGaogamon flew off with their Tamers to search for somewhere to make a crossing.

"Hey, Hawkmon," Steph called as she staggered over to the red-feathered bird, her legs unsteady from so long riding on Growlmon's back. Hawkmon was sat on his own, several metres away from the rest of the group and he looked up in surprise when he saw the girl moving over to join him. "You okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," he replied, turning his gaze to the floor.

"Are you sure?" the blonde-haired girl asked as she sat down beside him. "I mean, with everything that's happened over the last couple of days, I'd be pretty surprised if you were."

"I'm fine, really," the bird insisted unconvincingly. "I'm just still a little tired from…yesterday."

"Look, Hawkmon, if you need to talk-"

"I don't!" he snapped suddenly, sighing and shaking his head a second later. "I'm sorry, I just…I…"

"It's okay," Steph smiled gently in response and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I understand if you don't wanna talk about what happened yet. You should talk to somebody eventually, though."

The girl got to her feet and began to walk away when a hoarse whisper from Hawkmon stopped her in her tracks.

"I killed them."

"Uh, what?" Steph asked with a confused frown as she turned back around to see tears streaming down Hawkmon's cheeks.

"I killed them!" he repeated in a furious whisper. "It was me who recommended BlackGargomon as a contact, me who said he could be trusted. I was the one who got myself captured and tortured. I was the one who…broke."

"Hawkmon, you can't-"

"They're all dead because of me!" he cried bitterly. "Don't you understand? They were my friends! If I'd just been stronger, if I hadn't let BlackGargomon fool me, they'd all still be alive! We were _this _close to having the strength to liberate the city and I…I…"

"You can't blame yourself for that," the girl said softly. "I mean, everybody makes mistakes. And besides, if you hadn't made BlackGargomon into a contact for the resistance then they probably would have just sent somebody else after he'd failed. Then someone else would have been tricked and you'd have died along with the others."

"Maybe that would have been better…" the bird muttered angrily. "How am I meant to live with myself after what I caused? What reason do I have for living if all I do is screw up and get people killed?"

"I…I don't…"

"Maybe you are yet to discover your true purpose in life," a voice suggested from behind the pair, and they turned to see Renamon stood there with her usual unreadable expression. "Either way, you should not give up and wish for death simply because you made a mistake. The least you can do is honour the memory of your fallen comrades by continuing to live, by continuing to fight. To do any less would be letting Zhuqiaomon and his slaves win."

Hawkmon turned away and nodded slowly, gazing guiltily at the floor. "I…I guess you're right. I'm just a little…"

"It's alright," Renamon replied with a small nod. "You're not the first person here to have an emotional crisis. Just remember that you are not alone."

"Thank you…" the bird mumbled in a slightly embarrassed tone. "I, um…I'll remember that."

* * *

"Thanks," Steph said quietly as she and Renamon walked back towards the rest of the group. "I wish I wasn't so bad at talking to people…"

"It is alright," the kitsune replied. "You wanted to help, and that's what counts. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses."

"So what would my strengths be?" the girl asked with a hint of bitterness.

"You are kind, caring, intelligent and selfless," Renamon replied simply.

"Oh, um, thanks," Steph stammered, shifting uncomfortably at the unexpected praise.

"There are many different kinds of strength," the vixen continued. "Leomon once told me that. At the time I didn't understand, but now…"

"Hmmm…" Steph mumbled and looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "So, what are your weaknesses? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"Claustrophobia," Renamon growled with a small shudder. "I _loathe _being trapped in small spaces. I shall never know how you humans can stand to drive around in those vile 'cars' or get on those despicable 'aeroplanes'."

"I think my dad would agree with you on the second one…" the blonde-haired girl giggled lightly and shook her head.

* * *

Cam, Henry and their respective partners returned less than a minute later to report that they had found several points where the chasm narrowed enough for Taomon and MarineAngemon to float them across. The Tamers made for the nearest location, which was less than fifteen minutes away, managing to cross without trouble despite Ryo's worry that it may have been a trap. Unfortunately, by the time the group had crossed the chasm there was only forty minutes left until night-time. Spotting a series of small caves nearby, they opted to stop there and rest for the night.

* * *

6:32p.m.

"I can't believe how close we are!" Takato exclaimed excitedly as he gazed up at the muddy red sky. "I mean, we're only a day away from finally rescuing Sam and Suzie from Zhuqiaomon, and then we can all go home!"

"Probably more like two days," Steph corrected him hesitantly. "We probably won't get to the prison until pretty late tomorrow, and it might not be the best idea to launch an attack when we're tired out."

"Whaddya think we have Recharge cards for?" Terriermon asked rhetorically. "We can just slash a couple of them for you unlucky ones who actually have to walk, give you a quick snack, then we hit 'em with everything we got!"

"It would give us the benefit of surprise," Ryo noted with a grin. "Zhuqs will probably be thinking the same thing as Steph and won't expect us to attack after a whole day of walking."

"Um, we're not actually gonna have to fight Zhuqiaomon himself, are we?" Kazu asked nervously. "I mean, I know we're awesome and all that, but he's a Mega-level – and a powerful one to boot!"

"I don't think so," Steph replied. "The prison complex is separate from Zhuqiaomon's tower, and they're a pretty long way apart."

"Wow, humility from Kazu," Rika smirked. "Somewhere on Earth, a pig just sprouted wings…"

"Or Digivolved into Patamon," Kenta joked. "So, what's the plan of action?"

"It'd be pretty pointless making one now when we have no idea what we'll be up against," Henry frowned. "We'll have to make one when we get there and have actually seen the defences."

"Agreed," Rika nodded. "Though from what Steph told us it sounds like there's only one entrance, so I doubt our plan is gonna be any more complex than just rushing in and kicking the living cr-"

"Oh!" the blonde-haired girl suddenly exclaimed. "Um, I just remembered something. There's this arena where they used to drag us to for those stupid 'Bonding Sessions' or whatever they were called. The whole place is open-topped and there's a tunnel connecting it to the rest of the prison."

"How long is this tunnel?" Cyberdramon asked.

"I'm not sure – it took me about half an hour to walk along it when Caturamon dragged me off to meet Vajramon."

"We could probably do that in a third of the time," Renamon noted with a small frown. "Maybe less depending on who went."

"How big is the tunnel?" Guilmon piped up. "If it's too small, I might not be able to get through it as Growlmon or WarGrowlmon and then I wouldn't be able to help you guys very much."

"Uh, he has a point," Steph admitted with a wince. "There's no way WarGrowlmon could get down that thing. The rest of you would probably be okay, but…"

"I wouldn't recommend sending us all down that route anyway – having too many of us piling down some narrow corridors would be just asking for trouble," Ryo added. "Most of us should focus on attacking the main gates while two, maybe three others head through the back door. That way if we take too long to get through the front door, we can act as a distraction while the other team sneaks in and gets Sam and Suzie out of there."

"I'm going with the infiltration team," Rika said firmly.

"So are we," Terriermon added, his Tamer nodding beside him.

"I'm going too," Steph began, continuing before anybody could protest. "You'll need somebody to show you how to get to their cell or you'll get lost in there. And besides, there's a dead end about twenty minutes in. The only way to get further on is through a hidden door that you'd never be able to find on your own."

"Alright," Rika agreed with a nod of thanks to the taller girl. "Is the tunnel guarded?"

"It wasn't when I was there. I guess they thought the secret door would be enough defence."

"More fool them," Leomon chuckled as a hungry glint appeared in his eye. "Looks like the Sovereign's arrogance shall be his undoing once again…"

"So, what do you want me to do?" Hawkmon asked hesitantly.

"Uh, well…" Henry began, trailing off as he looked desperately over at Ryo.

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but you're not gonna be much of a match for most of Zhuqiaomon's defenders," the older boy replied with a small grin. "They're pretty much all at Champion Level, so a lot of _us _are gonna have problems when you take their numbers into account."

"Maybe he could go with us on the infiltration team?" Steph suggested. "I mean, Taomon and Rapidmon are both pretty big and not exactly the stealthiest Digimon around, so it could be useful to have somebody a little more…um…"

"Shorter?" the bird-like Digimon suggested with an approximation of a tired grin.

"Well, I was trying to put it a little more diplomatically, but yeah."

"Hey, being short ain't necessarily a bad thing," Terriermon protested indignantly. "There are advantages to having a more…_compact _frame."

"Wow, diplomacy from Terriermon," Jeri giggled. "As if the Digital World wasn't weird enough…"

* * *

The next day's walk seemed to stretch on forever to the Tamers, their anticipation (or fear) of the coming battle warping their perception of time. Eventually, at around four o'clock in the afternoon, they came within sight of the Sovereign's prison.

* * *

Wednesday 17th November – 4:04p.m.

"Damn…" Cam breathed in awe, a hint of fear running through him as he and the rest of the group gazed down at Zhuqiaomon's prison complex.

The complex was closer to a fortress than anything else. Two thirds of the main building's perimeter was surrounded by enormous, impassable mountains, while the remaining area was defended by a set of three, concentric walls that seemed to rise out of the blasted, dusty red ground like natural outcrops of rock. The perfectly-smooth faces and sharp, neat corners quite clearly showed that they had been shaped by skilled hands, however, dispelling any notions that they were anything but expertly-crafted fortifications. The first ring of walls was around twenty feet high with a pair of towering gatehouses, the second about half that tall again with a single gatehouse while the third stood at a full forty feet high, its lone gatehouse topped with flame-wreathed stone effigies of Zhuqiaomon. Razor-sharp outcroppings ringed with battlements protruded from the tops of the walls at twenty-yard intervals, providing ideal firing positions for the fortress's defenders. The main prison building itself was much more underwhelming – a squat, ugly building only a single story high and made of the same red stone as the walls, with a fifty-foot, lighthouse-like tower attached to the rear.

The prison's defenders were even more intimidating than its formidable walls. Several dozen black-furred lizard-like creatures padded around in front of the outermost wall, each about seven feet tall and twice as long. Long, red talons sprouted from their fingers and toes, their rear claws carving huge gouges out of the floor as they walked. The creatures had two leathery wings that seemed to have been stitched together and grafted onto to their bodies as an afterthought. Their faces were covered by blocky metal masks, twin crimson orbs glaring ferally out of the eye sockets. The lizards' arms and thighs were armoured with thick rings of a dull, silvery metal bolted on with large, red rivets, while their lower legs and feet bore thick armour plates held on with enormous silver screws and the same red rivets. More armoured rings encircled their tails, which ended in bundles of long, multi-coloured wires sparking with electricity.

"What the hell _are_ those…_things_?" Gaomon croaked with a growing sense of revulsion.

"DexDorugamon," Cyberdramon snarled in reply. "They are cybernetically-enhanced Undead Digimon enslaved by Zhuqiaomon to guard his realms."

"What are those things on the walls?" Henry asked as he peered closely at the silver shapes moving along the enormous red structures. "Are they…Tankmon?"

The odd Digimon certainly did look similar to Tankmon. They shared the same basic shape – an armoured lower half with two pairs of caterpillar tracks, a torso rising out of the propulsion unit topped with a snarling, bestial face fused with a tank's main turret, two arms with enormous machine guns where the hands should be. These Digimon were, on closer inspection, quite clearly not Tankmon, however. Their armour was a dull silver instead of green, and where a Tankmon's torso unit was organic, theirs were made up of a mass of silvery cables in a grotesque parody of human musculature.

"They are the ForgeTankmon," Leomon answered him. "They are similar, but are made entirely from robotic components and have no free will. Along with the DexDorugamon, they make up the main part of Zhuqiaomon's elite forces known as the Genesis Guard."

"They don't look so tough," Rika snorted contemptuously as she glanced at her D-Arc. "They're only Champions! Me and Taomon could take them on no problem."

"Don't underestimate them," Ryo warned her. "The Genesis Guard are to normal Champions what the Devas are to normal Ultimates. They're a _lot _stronger than they look – just one of them could take on a relatively-weak Ultimate."

"Boy, did you guys pick the short straw…" Terriermon giggled from his usual perch, earning himself his usual rebuke from his Tamer.

"We could still swap roles, you know!" Gaogamon grumbled.

"We'd better split up here," Steph said and pointed to a small hill in the distance just to the left of and a little way behind the fortress's formidable defences. "I think the arena is just over there, so we should be able to get there unnoticed if we keep to those hills over there."

"Sounds good. I can't wait to get my hands on those scumbag Devas," Rika agreed with a cold, bloodthirsty smirk. "Keep an eye on everyone while I'm gone, Jeri – try to make sure Gogglehead doesn't do anything _too _stupid."


	34. Chapter 34

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Jailbreak**

Wednesday 17th November – 4:07p.m.

Near Zhuqiaomon's Prison, Sovereign Level

A low growl rumbled from the throat of one of the prison's DexDorugamon guards as it suddenly stopped its pacing and glared suspiciously at the variously-coloured flares of light shining behind the nearby hills. The vicious creature's growling grew louder and it took a few steps towards the jagged mounds of earth, alerting the ForgeTankmon patrolling the wall above it to the possibility of danger.

"Filthy animals," one of the mechanized Digimon grumbled to its partner as they trundled past the black-furred saurian. "Always jumping at shadows…"

"Yes, and I thought the Mekanorimon's anti-theft systems were over-sensitive. It is fortunate that it does not rain here or they would be going off with every drop of w-"

The android never got to finish its sentence, cutting off with an oddly-metallic gurgle as a sleek, silver missile slammed into its torso and reduced both it and its partner to shards of scrap metal. A series of feral roars tore from the DexDorugamon as a warbling alarm rang out, concealed spotlights flaring into life and illuminating a shadowy figure that rose into the night sky with terrifying grace.

* * *

"**Desolation Claw!**" Cyberdramon roared, sending a glimmering wave of energy tearing towards a knot of DexDorugamon that were stampeding towards him. Two of the beasts were cut to ribbons by the attack, a third losing a leg and being crushed to death under the feet of those following it.

A heartbeat later, the dragon was skimming along mere feet above the ground and was practically on top of the pack of undead monstrosities. He lashed out with repeated roars of "**Cyber Nail!**" cutting down five more of his foes. As the remaining DexDorugamon – over twenty of them, all told – surged towards him, Cyberdramon leapt back into the sky with a feral chuckle, his pursuers spreading their wings and leaping into the air a second later.

"**Atomic Blaster!**" Takato and WarGrowlmon called in unison as the cyborg fired twin beams of crimson energy that tore through the air less than a metre behind Cyberdramon's armoured tail, incinerating half a dozen DexDorugamon and batting seven more out of the sky. A dozen more of the feral Digimon were reduced to spare data as they tried in vain to dodge around the energy beams, their high flight speed preventing them from turning anywhere near quickly enough. Cyberdramon let out a triumphant roar as he somersaulted in mid-air and nose-dived straight towards the remaining DexDorugamon – a total of eleven Digimon, including the seven injured ones who had all survived their falls. The dragon twisted again as he neared the ground, trying to land on his feet, but was sent flying backwards several metres by an incredibly strong impact on his chestplate. Suppressing a snarl of pain, he leapt to his feet, dodging to the side quickly as another ForgeTankmon took a pot-shot at him.

The near-deafening screaming of jet engines from behind him promised Cyberdramon that the enemy artillery would not be a problem for much longer. A chilling howl echoed from the hills as MachGaogamon rocketed overhead, his course taking him towards the left-hand side of the outer walls a few metres away from where they joined onto the cliffs surrounding the rear of the complex. A ForgeTankmon let out a panicked cry and began desperately blazing away at the werewolf with its machine gun arms, only to be sent flying off of the back of the wall with a crushed skull as its target slammed into it fists-first. Two more androids swivelled in place and opened fire with their own weapons, only to be torn apart by twin blasts from the canine's howling cannons.

"**Panzer Cannon!**" a dozen metallic voices droned as one, a wave of deafening gunshots ringing out as MachGaogamon leapt into the air in an attempt to dodge the barrage of shells arcing towards him. He almost succeeded, a single shell slamming into the championship belt slung across his chest and sending him crashing back down to the top of the wall with a cry of pain that was mirrored by his Tamer almost half a mile away. With a victorious battle cry, the tanks began trundling towards the prone werewolf, taking careful aim with their weapons.

"**Fist of the Beast King!**" a voice roared from behind the tanks and a blazing orange fireball in the shape of a lion's head slammed into the back of one of the silver Digimon. The fireball melted straight through the ForgeTankmon's torso causing it to detonate spectacularly, throwing two of its fellows from the walls. Turning to face the new threat, another tank had its head sliced in two as Leomon leapt down from the cliffs next to the wall, lashing out with his sword as he fell. A volley of machine gun fire tore towards the leonine warrior and he raised his left arm, the heart-shaped pink bubble mounted on his forearm like a knight's shield blocking the storm of bullets with ease. The ForgeTankmon unleashed another hail of fire on the lion as MachGaogamon rose to his feet with a furious roar, grabbed the nearest tank by its head and crushed it in his giant metal fist. The werewolf then proceeded to use the ForgeTankmon's corpse as a makeshift flail to batter its allies into oblivion, only stopping when the body finally realized that it was dead and disintegrated into data. A few seconds later, Leomon pulled his sword free of the last ForgeTankmon's chest and MarineAngemon poked his head out of the lion's mane, sending a stream of healing bubbles floating towards the wounded MachGaogamon.

"Thanks," the werewolf chuckled. "They almost had me there."

"Don't thank me yet," Leomon warned him, pointing behind the canine's back. "There's still a hell of a lot more of them to go."

MachGaogamon turned and let out a sigh of irritation as he saw that the twenty ForgeTankmon still left manning that portion of the wall had formed up into ordered ranks and were advancing towards them menacingly.

"Well, isn't that just bloody marvellous?"

* * *

Ashlands – 4:07p.m.

"Come on…come on…" Rika whispered to herself as she stared down at the enormous, ruined Roman-style coliseum that concealed the secret entrance to Zhuqiaomon's base.

"Wow, and I thought _I_ was jumpy…" Rapidmon chuckled quietly before straightening up suddenly. "I can hear gunshots."

"So can I," Taomon agreed. "The battle must have started. Time for us to make our move."

"Finally," her redheaded Tamer muttered as the two Ultimates took off, Henry and Hawkmon riding on Rapidmon's shoulders while Taomon carried the two girls.

They landed on the western side of the massive arena, right in front of a barred iron gate that lay at the mouth of an unlit, rock passage just wide enough for Taomon and Rapidmon to advance side by side. A quick blast from Rapidmon's missile launcher was enough to remove the obstacle and the two Tamed Digimon were soon racing down the passage at breakneck speed.

_Hold on Sam, _Rika thought and gripped her D-Arc. _I'm coming._

* * *

"Looks like they're in trouble," Kazu noted with a worried frown as he stared at Leomon, MachGaogamon and MarineAngemon, who were struggling to hold off the ForgeTankmon. The garrison on the second wall had joined their comrades on the first in their bombardment of the three Digimon, and the fairy's shield was barely holding. "Anything you can do, buddy?"

"I believe so," Andromon replied calmly and turned to WarGrowlmon. "Cover me, please."

"Okay!" the enormous cyborg replied cheerfully, immersing himself in his link with Takato as he aimed his chest cannons at the walls. "**Atomic Blaster!**"

The twin beams of energy soared straight over Andromon's head as he leapt down from his hilltop perch and set off towards the walls at a run. An explosion rocked the first wall as WarGrowlmon's attack struck home, vaporising three ForgeTankmon and throwing five more off of the walls. The fall was nowhere near enough to kill them, however, and the tank Digimon quickly righted themselves, fired boosters concealed on the bottom of their drive units and began slowly ascending into the air to re-join their comrades on top of the walls.

"Oh no you don't," Andromon muttered as his chest plates swung open. "**Gatling Attack!**"

A pair of silver missiles erupted from the android's concealed launchers in twin bursts of smoke and fire, each one arcing towards the blocky form of a slowly-rising ForgeTankmon. One of the tanks was obliterated in a burst of fire and a deafening explosion, while the other let off a well-aimed salvo of machine gun fire that blew the second missile out of the sky.

"New target acquired," the ForgeTankmon intoned emotionlessly as it landed atop the wall. "Eliminating intruder. **Panzer Cannon!**"

As the shell arced towards him, Andromon's perception of time slowed almost to a standstill and he heard his Tamer's voice call out in the back of his mind. "**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate!**"

The android leapt into the air with blinding speed, somersaulting repeatedly as he passed over the cannon shell and rocketed towards a rather surprised ForgeTankmon. With a shout of "**Lightning Blade!**", he engaged his twin energy blades and lashed out at the tank. His first left blade struck first, amputating the ForgeTankmon's left arm with surgical precision. As he barrel-rolled in mid-air, Andromon brought his right-hand blade around in a forehand slash that clove his foe's head clean in two, detonating a cache of ammunition stored somewhere inside its metal chassis.

A chorus of machine gun fire greeted Andromon as he landed in a fighting crouch, the rounds ricocheting off of his armour with a chorus of metallic clangs. As he felt his Tamer reaching out to him through their bond, the android launched into a series of dizzying stabs and slashes with his energy blades, reducing a trio of ForgeTankmon to piles of debris and slag. A slight breeze tickling across the side of his face warned Andromon of an incoming attack and he bent over backwards, ducking under the swinging arm of a ForgeTankmon, a long, serrated bayonet protruding from beneath each of its machine guns. Before the anthropomorphic tank could attack again, it was struck between the shoulder blades by a burst of sonic energy that sent it flying a dozen metres through the air, tearing a hole straight through the metal torso in the process. With a nod of thanks to MachGaogamon, who proceeded to pummel another ForgeTankmon into dust with unhealthy enthusiasm, Andromon leapt back into the fray, launching blasts of electricity and slicing with his impossibly-sharp energy blades with unerring accuracy.

"This is a tough battle," Leomon growled to his comrades as he yanked his sword free of an armoured, turret-like head. "I don't think I've ever been tested this much by a fight – and this is only the first wall of three!"

"We'd better hope that Rika and Henry can get in and out of there soon," MachGaogamon replied, his words being punctuated by another blast from WarGrowlmon's cannons. "Because I don't know how much longer we can hold out."

* * *

"CATURAMON!" a familiar, shrill voice shrieked from behind the dog Deva as he padded along a long, dark corridor at the heart of Zhuqiaomon's prison complex.

"Yes, Lord Commander?" the canine replied, his words dripping with scorn.

"What are you doing in here?" Makuramon asked in the same panicked voice. "We are under attack! You should be out there on the walls, fighting the Abominations!"

"But commander, you didn't order me to go out there…"

"I shouldn't have to!" the monkey exclaimed angrily. "We are being torn apart by those filthy humans and their little pets!"

"No, we are not," Caturamon growled in an irritated tone. "I have just come from the walls. Our defences are perfectly capable of rebuffing our current enemy."

"But the first wall-"

"Is the most weakly-defended of them all, and we have another two walls behind it. They will not make it through," the dog replied in a tone that a human would have used to placate a young, incredibly stupid child. "Whatever your other merits may be, I am far more experienced as a military commander. A good leader always listens to advice from a superior source of knowledge."

"Hmmm…" Makuramon grumbled and stood up a little taller in an attempt to regain some of his lost composure. "Well, _if_ things startlooking dire…"

"Then my presence will make little difference."

"I was _going_ to say that if things start looking dire," the monkey continued, suppressing a growl of irritation. "Then I want you to make sure that our enemies don't get their hands on the prisoners."

"Oh, so how should I do that?" Caturamon asked with a hopeful look.

"Move them if you can. Kill them if you can't."

"So we're going for a 'scorched earth' policy, then?"

"Precisely. Now, I want you to watch over the battle. Send somebody to inform me if things take a turn for the worse."

"Of course, Commander."

* * *

Tunnels beneath Ashlands – 4:13p.m.

"It's a dead end," Rapidmon reported as he advanced into the next chamber with his missile launchers raised. "I guess this must be where the secret door is hidden?"

"Yup," Steph confirmed as Taomon gently set her down and she walked over to what looked like a small claw mark on the far wall. "The door is hidden just behind that outcrop of rock to the left. Now, I'm pretty sure the button that Caturamon pressed was right…over…here!" she finished with a triumphant flourish as she reached under a seemingly-ordinary rock and flicked a tiny switch. With the deafening sound of stone grating on stone, the small, rocky outcrop descended into the floor, revealing a passage just wide enough for Rapidmon to squeeze through.

Unfortunately, said passage was currently blocked by a rather surprised looking ForgeTankmon.

"Intruders!" it wailed and quickly took aim at Rapidmon with its head-mounted cannon.

"**Talisman Spell!**" Taomon shouted in reply, throwing a glowing white spell paper that formed into a small, transparent shield around the ForgeTankmon just as it fired its cannon. The shell detonated less than a metre after it had left the barrel, destroying the shield and sending the tank flying back several metres, its head cannon warped and deformed by the point blank detonation. A quick follow-up attack with a Talisman Star removed what was left of the machine's head and the mangled body soon disintegrated into data.

"Well," Rapidmon began cheerfully. "That went well."

"It's a good thing that shield managed to contain most of the blast, or else that passage could have collapsed!" Henry noted with a small frown. "Nice work."

"Let's keep moving," Taomon suggested as she cracked her knuckles. "Somebody may have heard the battle – if we start moving now, we may be able to catch up with any sentries before they warn the main base."

* * *

As it turned out, there had been one more sentry guarding the hidden passage into the prison – an Ogremon who was fast asleep. All it took was two swift slashes from Taomon's Talisman Stars to ensure that the ogre would never wake.

* * *

Meanwhile, the first wall had fallen to the rest of the Tamers and their Digimon, and Cyberdramon had finished munching his way through the DexDorugamon, swiftly moving on to a direct assault on the second wall. The ForgeTankmon were surprised by the near-suicidal move, and lost two of their number to a well-aimed Desolation Claw attack before they could respond. As the guns on the third wall joined in and he was faced with an overwhelming volume of fire, Cyberdramon was forced to turn and retreat back behind the safety of the first wall.

"We need a plan," Jeri said firmly as the rest of the Digimon joined the black-armoured dragon behind the enormous stone structure, with the exception of WarGrowlmon, who was still stood with the children on the nearby hills and was providing artillery support.

"There's no way we can even get near them," Ryo replied with a shake of his head. "They've got overlapping fields of fire from every angle, and when you add the third wall's guns into the mix…"

"What if Takato slapped WarGrowlmon with a Power card and kept bombarding them?" Cam suggested hopefully.

"Not a chance – we can't take out enough of them with one shot for that to work, and by the time we'd fired enough shots to have done any real damage, the first wall would have crumbled into dust," Kenta answered miserably.

"I think I have an idea," Takato said as an odd glint entered his eye.

"Oh, no – I know that look! Don't even _think _about it, Takato…" Cam warned him, but it was too late – the shorter boy had immersed himself in his link with WarGrowlmon and the enormous cyborg had lifted him up onto his shoulder.

"**Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed activate! WarGreymon's Brave Shield activate!**" the begoggled Tamer called and slashed a pair of cards as his partner's engines cycled up to full speed. A hexagonal shield appeared in the massive saurian's metal claws and he leapt into the air, flying at a speed that should not have been possible for such a large creature. A number of ForgeTankmon switched their aim to the new, rather more visible target as it rocketed towards them, their shells ricocheting off of the Brave Shield and denting its golden surface, but doing nothing to the creature behind it.

"If he doesn't pull up, he's gonna hit the first wall…" Kazu noted, wincing as WarGrowlmon did exactly that, sending a series of cracks through the massive structure. With a roar, WarGrowlmon cast aside his shield and slammed his left fist into the base of the wall, his right fist striking it soon after about twenty feet further along.

Shaking himself free of their bond, Takato slid down his partner's back and took cover between his legs, the saurian's hunched stance providing him with ideal cover from the enemy fire. Adjusting his position so that he was less likely to be hit by a stray shot, he quickly drew another two cards and slashed them through his D-Arc.

"**Digi-Modify! Digmon's Drill activate! Strength activate! **Boy, I hope this works…"

With a huge roar of effort, WarGrowlmon slammed both of his drill-encased fists into the wall near where it joined the ground, slicing upwards with another roar and tearing a pair of gaping rents in the stone surface. As the drills encasing his claws disintegrated into data, he took hold of the enormous chunk of wall and tore it clear of the ground with yet another roar, hefting it over his head like a massive stone shield. Seeing his plan, his teammates gathered beneath the shielding bulk of the makeshift shield as WarGrowlmon advanced towards the next wall. A deep, throaty chuckle left the cyborg's throat as he reached the base of the second wall and swung the enormous chunk of masonry in an overhead strike like an oversized club, sending a spider's web of cracks across its beige surface. A second and then a third swing widened the cracks to the point where a man could easily fit inside the largest of them, though as he went in for a fourth swing, WarGrowlmon's makeshift weapon finally crumbled in his hands under the unrelenting punishment inflicted upon it by the ForgeTankmon's bombardment. Refusing to be defeated, he immersed himself in his link with his Tamer once again just as the boy slashed a Power card and began charging his chest cannons.

"**ATOMIC BLASTER!**" they bellowed as one, the twin energy beams slamming into the already-weakened surface and reducing a significant portion of its lower half to dust and rubble. An ear-splitting groan echoed through the area as the upper half of the weakened section sagged and began to tumble towards the Tamed Digimon, only for WarGrowlmon to catch it and throw it straight back over his head, along with the dozen Tankmon currently stood atop it.

With a roar of triumph, the saurian's comrades leapt, climbed, floated on pink bubbles or flew up either side of the ragged breach in the wall, laying into the bewildered defenders before they could resume their deluge of fire. WarGrowlmon, meanwhile, grabbed hold of his Tamer and leapt into the air, unleashing another Atomic Blaster on the enemy forces moving from the far side of the wall to where his allies were before soaring back towards his previous firing position atop the hills with the aid of another Hyper Speed card.

* * *

_That was…impressive… _Caturamon admitted to himself grudgingly as he observed the battle from the tower attached to the main prison building, WarGrowlmon's display of raw strength forcing praise even from the hate-filled mind of the dog Deva. In the wake of the attack, the rest of the Abominations had torn through the second wall's garrison, and were now spread out all along the length of the wall, each Abomination isolated by a knot of ForgeTankmon but still holding their own. _It will not be enough, though. The ForgeTankmon on the second wall will slowly wear them down until they are exhausted. Then, when the second wall is all but lost, the third wall's guns shall open fire, obliterating the Abominations. And of course, Makuramon will try to claim the credit for __**my **__beautiful defence strategy._

Caturamon's train of thought was interrupted as he spotted the diminutive leader of the Devas running out along the third wall. "What is he doing?" the bulldog asked himself as he saw the monkey run up to the ForgeTankmon command unit and start shouting orders, leaping up and down on the spot like a small child having a tantrum. The silver-armoured tank's next words were cut off by Makuramon, the Deva throwing a fireball at its head and reducing it to molten slag. With a near-feral scream that Caturamon could hear even from his distant vantage point, the monkey pointed down at the second wall, continuing in a slightly more sedate tone that the blue-furred Deva couldn't quite make out as he issued a series of orders. A spark of rage and horror ran through Caturamon as the ForgeTankmon turned their guns on the second wall and opened fire.

"You fool!" he snarled to himself as Makuramon's stupidity made itself apparent. _He's opened fire too early! The Abominations haven't been worn down enough by the Genesis Guard – they'll be able to dodge these volleys with ease, and he'll do more damage to our forces than theirs! With the forces on the second wall slain by our own guns, the third wall won't have enough firepower left to hold them off!_

With a howl of pure rage – not at the lives of his men being lost, but at the defeat that would inevitably follow Makuramon's foolishness – Caturamon tore down the stairs in the prison tower, heading straight for the cell of the captured humans.

_At least his idiocy means that I get to have some fun…_

* * *

"What is going on?" Antylamon asked a Goblimon as it hurried past her in the direction of the surface.

"We are under attack, honoured one!" the little green creature replied. "We have been ordered to report to the surface and repel the invaders! Orders from Commander Caturamon!"

"Who is attacking us?" the rabbit Deva demanded, attempting to cover up her shock and distress with a stern façade. _If the Goblimon are being sent out, that means that the walls are doomed…_

"The Abominations!" Caturamon's voice growled from behind her. "Makuramon has managed to make a complete mess of things – they'll be getting through the third wall within minutes."

"So much for maintaining the morale of the troops…" Antylamon muttered as she saw the terrified expression on the face of the Goblimon.

"It matters not. This fortress is doomed," the dog snarled in reply, turning and padding further back into the complex, in the direction of the barracks and the prison cells. "We are leaving – we need to carry word of our _glorious commander's _failure to the Sovereign."

"Wait, the exit is this way. That just leads-"

"I know, but I have one last order from Makuramon to carry out…"

* * *

"What do you think's going on up there?" Suzie asked her friend softly. The sounds of rapidly-moving footsteps, clanking armour and guttural voices had been echoing from nearby corridors for several minutes now, and it was obvious even to the two little girls that something important was happening. "Do you think they're having a party?"

"They'd all sound a lot happier if they were going to a party," Sam noted with a thoughtful frown. "I think I heard one of them say something about a fight…"

"Oooh!" Suzie squealed excitedly. "Do you think somebody's come to wescue us?"

"They might have," Sam replied, her own mood brightening at the prospect of imminent 'wescue'. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it! Rika and Henry and the others must have come to rescue us!"

"How astute," a familiar voice sneered, and the girls turned to see Caturamon push open the door to their cell, Antylamon advancing beside him with a worried expression. "It's _such_ a pity they'll be too late."

"W-what do you mean?" Suzie whimpered in fear.

"I mean that Antylamon and I finally get to do exactly what I've wanted to do ever since you set foot in this prison!" he replied with a booming laugh. "**Bao Chui!**"

"**Bao Fu!**"

* * *

"I can't believe them!" Leomon growled angrily as he cowered behind the second wall along with his fellow Digimon. "Opening fire on their own troops – how barbaric!"

"It wasn't even that effective," MachGaogamon muttered thoughtfully. "If they had just waited until the ForgeTankmon had worn us down a little more, I doubt we'd have been able to move quick enough to get out of there in one piece."

"You are correct," Andromon agreed. "Taking into account the rate at which we have been expending energy, I calculate a 78% probability that we would have been too exhausted to dodge their barrage."

"And they wouldn't have completely wasted the lives of their comrades," Cyberdramon snarled as he struggled to hold his chest armour together. The black metal was fractured in multiple places and blood seeped from several of the cracks. A white light suddenly washed over the dragon's wounds as his Tamer slashed a Seed of Health card, and he straightened up, rolling his shoulders with a feral grin. "In fact, I think they wasted so many lives that we might be able to make it to the wall without being torn to shreds."

"It is a distinct possibility. Using one of MarineAngemon's shield bubbles, we would have a 71% chance of all of us reaching the walls intact. If we were to split up and attack from two routes at once, having the members of one group enhanced with WarGreymon's Brave Shield modify cards, the number climbs to almost 100%."

"And who said maths was useless…" Leomon chuckled to himself.

"Cam," MachGaogamon replied glumly.

"And Kazu," added Andromon.

"Puhpi…"

* * *

Rika barely even dared breathe as a mob of Goblimon tramped past the rather Spartan bedroom that she and her fellow infiltrators had chosen as their hiding place. When the echoes of footsteps had receded into the distance, the six humans and Digimon leapt into action, padding as quickly and quietly (not very, in Rapidmon's case) down the corridor as they could until they reached a large, wooden door that stood slightly ajar.

"This is it," Steph whispered. "Their cell is just through here."

"I hear voices," Rapidmon hissed and pushed the door slowly open to reveal a corridor over a dozen metres long that led into a prison cell that looked like it had been taken from an old Western. Inside the cell were a strange, blue-furred, bulldog-like Digimon and a tall, equally-strange, brown-furred rabbit-like Digimon, both with their backs turned to the group.

_I guess those are the rabbit and dog Devas, _Rika thought to herself as the dog (she remembered Kenta calling him Caturamon) continued talking.

"It's _such_ a pity that they'll be too late."

"W-what do you mean?" a voice that she recognized as belonging to Suzie whimpered.

"I mean that Antylamon and I finally get to do exactly what I've wanted to do ever since you set foot in this prison! **Bao Chui!**" the dog roared and leapt forwards, somersaulting in mid-air.

"**Bao Fu!**" the rabbit added as she leapt forwards, her hands morphing into wickedly-sharp double-headed battleaxes.

"NO!" Rika and Henry screamed in unison as the world ground into slow motion, giving them a perfect view of the events of the next half a second.

With agonizing slowness, the rabbit's right axe-hand came around in a backhand blow that sliced Caturamon in half at the waist, her left axe-hand arcing around to slap the two halves of his massive body to the side, deflecting them away from the back of the cell. The remains of the dog Deva fell to the floor with a wet slap that echoed down the corridor, time reverting to its normal speed as they hit. As she used the momentum from her attack to pivot on the spot, the rabbit Deva spotted the newcomers and instinctively half-raised her axe hands before forcing them to fall to her sides as she realized their identities.

"You would be the Tamers, I presume?" she asked politely as a shell-shocked Sam and Suzie peered hesitantly around her legs. "I am Antylamon, the rabbit Deva."

"R-Rika?" Sam stammered as she caught sight of her sister.

"Sam?" Rika whispered and blinked rapidly to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "SAM!" she yelled joyously as an enormous, genuine smile worked its way onto her face and she ran forwards to embrace her little sister.

"HENWY!" Suzie squealed as she and her elder brother ran towards each other, meeting halfway in a rib-crushing hug. "Oh, Henwy! I was so scared – the Devas were so mean to use! They made us do wots and wots of nasty exercise and they wouldn't wet us sweep for wong enough and they…they…"

"It's okay," the boy said soothingly as she broke down in tears. "You're safe now. They can't hurt you anymore."

Rika and Sam's reunion was much less dramatic, though no less emotional for it. The two sisters pulled each other into a tight hug, a few silent tears of relief escaping the younger girl's eyes as she buried her face in the turquoise cloth of the shoulder of Rika's shirt.

"I knew you'd come," Sam whispered softly, her sister hugging her tighter in response. They stayed like that for over a minute, until the brunette caught sight of something in the doorway of the corridor and her mouth fell open in shock as she untangled herself from her sister's arms. "Steph?"

"Nice to see you too," the blonde-haired girl replied with a gentle smile.

"St-Steph?" Suzie stammered as she too caught sight of the older girl. "But Catuwamon and the monkey said…they said that you were dead!"

"They _what_?" Henry gasped in horror. "Why would they…how could they be so cruel?"

"It makes sense," Steph said quietly, looking disgusted but not all that surprised by the revelation. "The bastards probably thought it would mess with their heads even more and make them become Tamers to Caturamon and Makuramon quicker. Or they could have done it for fun…"

"Both, probably," Antylamon nodded sadly. "I…I only wish I'd had the courage to do something sooner. My cowardice caused you that much more suffering…"

"No!" Suzie squealed in protest and glared sternly at the rabbit. "You're not a nasty Deva like the west of them! You were nice to us wots of times, and you never said mean things or hurt us wike Catuwamon or Makuwamon! You're our fwiend!"

"I, um…" the Deva stammered, taken aback by the little girl's stubborn verbal defence. "Thank you."

"It is we who should be thanking you," Taomon said with a soft chuckle. "You saved their lives."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for you…" Rapidmon began.

"We have a problem!" Hawkmon hissed from the doorway, where he was keeping watch. "It looks like a bunch of Goblimon and Ogremon have decided to desert – they're heading further into the caves."

"It is likely that they are heading for the hidden passage leading to the arena – I assume that is how you got in?" Antylamon asked.

"Yeah," Rika nodded. "Is there any other way out?"

"There's the main door. Normally it would not be an option, but your friends are doing much better than expected thanks to some…tactical misjudgements by Makuramon. They should be done by the time we get there."

"Then let's get moving," the redhead replied. "The longer we stay in here, the greater the chance that-"

"INTRUDERS!" a high-pitched, manic voice shrieked from outside the door, and the children and Digimon turned to see the familiar form of Makuramon. "Kill the Abominations!"

The sea of retreating Goblimon and Ogremon didn't even miss a single step – they pushed straight past the demented monkey and kept heading for the exit. A squeal of indignant rage left Makuramon's lips as he realized he was being ignored and he turned to face the Tamers by himself.

"So, you've rescued your little friends then?" he sneered as he glared at the terrified forms of Suzie and Sam, who were cowering behind Taomon's legs. "I guess this means that you eliminated Caturamon before he could carry out his mission. Such a shame…"

"Makuramon," Antylamon called softly, stepping forwards while holding her open hands out to the sides to show that she meant him no harm. "Listen to me, brother. The humans are not our enemies."

"Antylamon?" the diminutive Deva spat, as if the name were a horrific insult. "I should have guessed that you would betray us. Your vaunted _compassion _always was your greatest weakness."

"Makuramon, it doesn't have to be like this," the rabbit continued. "We have all been deceived. Zhuqiaomon has been lying to us for all this time – he is not a god, but merely an ordinary Digimon!"

As the words left Antylamon's mouth, Makuramon burst out into a fit of insane giggles.

"Do not laugh – it is true!"

"I know!" he cackled between laughs as he clutched his ribs. "Oh, you brilliant…wonderful…glorious fool! I have _always _known! I can't believe any of you were stupid enough to ever believe that insanity!"

"Then why…why did you serve him? Why did you commit all those atrocities, kill all those innocent Digimon?"

"Simple," the monkey shrugged with a manic grin. "Because I enjoyed it. **PRIMAL ORB!**"

The sudden attack caught Antylamon off guard and the flaming ball of gold slammed into her, throwing her back against the wall. Taomon and Rapidmon had barely taken a single step forwards when a second ball rocketed towards them, expanding suddenly into a translucent golden sheet that covered the end of the corridor, trapping them inside.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Makuramon giggled. "I can't have you interrupting my little moment with Antylamon now, can I?"

"**BAO FU!**" the rabbit roared, slicing at him with her axe hands.

"**Primal Orb!**" the monkey cackled in reply as he leapt over the attack, slamming another fiery ball into the back of Antylamon's head and knocking her to the ground. "Now, now, dear sister. You and I both know that I'm just too fast for you."

"**Bao Fu!**" the taller Deva called again, slashing with her axe-like hands and missing once more. "I am going to make you pay for what you have done! At least the other Devas had some form of excuse, however feeble, for their actions. They were brainwashed, indoctrinated by that monster of a Sovereign into doing his will. But YOU! You _knew _what you were doing! You maimed, tortured and killed innocent people just for your own amusement! You are everything that is wrong with the Digital World, and I will MAKE YOU PAY!"

"Oh, would you just shut up already? **Primal Orb!**" Makuramon grumbled and launched a volley of fireballs that slammed into the rabbit's chest, sending her flying through the air and tearing a shriek of pain from her throat.

"NO!" Suzie screamed as the massive Deva's data fizzed and sparked, digital blood leaking from a cluster of ragged wounds on her chest and pooling on the floor around her. Suddenly, a white light flowed from the fallen Digimon's body and she was replaced by a small, rabbit-like Digimon that looked very similar to Terriermon, except that she had three horns instead of one and her fur was brown and pink where Terriermon was white and green.

"Oh dear," Makuramon sighed with a malicious grin. "It looks like my last attack may have been too much for you. How does it feel to be so powerless, so helpless in the face of your own death, Lopmon?"

"Go…to hell…" Lopmon croaked as a glowing ball of fire appeared in her opponent's hand.

"WOPMON!" Suzie wailed as the fireball descended towards the rabbit's head, a ball of white light suddenly appearing in her hands. Lopmon's eyes snapped open, waves of pink light shining out into Makuramon's face, blinding him temporarily and making him hiss in pain.

"What…what is this?" he gasped and leapt back as the little rabbit climbed to her feet, her wounds closing in front of his eyes. Noticing the light shining from Suzie's hands out of the corner of his eye, he glanced over at the girl, his eyes widening in shock when the light resolved itself into a pink-ringed D-Arc. "You…that's not possible!"

"I beg to differ, brother mine," Lopmon chuckled and got to her feet. "Now I know why Zhuqiaomon wanted to harness the power of Tamed Digimon. I can feel the power…so much power, flowing through every fibre of my being. Power that _you _will never be able to obtain! This power comes from the emotional bond between a Digimon and its Tamer, from the genuine care they feel for each other. This is why you could never force these humans to become Tamers, and why no human would be capable of becoming a Tamer to a heartless murderer like you!"

"You teww him, Wopmon!" Suzie cheered and punched the air, the screen of her D-Arc flashing suddenly white as it came into contact with Makuramon's barrier. With the sound of breaking glass, the barrier shattered into tiny fragments of data that quickly floated away down the long corridors. "Oops…did I do that?"

"My barrier!" the monkey squealed like an angry toddler, wincing in fear as Taomon and Rapidmon began advancing menacingly towards him. "This isn't over, humans! I _will _make you burn for this humiliation!"

With that, the leader of the Devas bounded away down the stone corridor, heading for the not-so-secret exit in the Arena. As soon as he was out of sight, Lopmon collapsed with a sigh of exhaustion, her newly-minted Tamer rushing to her side in concern.

"Wopmon?"

"I am alright," she reassured the girl, letting out a squeak of surprise as she found herself pulled into a rib-cracking hug.

"Oh, Wopmon you were amazing! You totawwy showed that mean owd monkey!"

"Thank…you…" the rabbit croaked and struggled to escape her Tamer's embrace. "I…can't…breathe…"

"Oh, sowwy…" Suzie giggled and loosened her grip marginally.

"We really had better get moving," Rika suggested as Henry stared at the two partners with undisguised shock. "And close your mouth, Brainiac…"

The blue-haired boy's jaw snapped shut with an audible click and he climbed aboard his partner's shoulder as Taomon summoned a Taijitu disk.

"I feel your pain," Rapidmon chuckled to Lopmon as he took off, leaving the little rabbit with a confused look.

* * *

"**Lightning Blade!**" Andromon called triumphantly as he swung his energy blades, neatly slicing the last of the ForgeTankmon into quarters that quickly disintegrated into data. "Thank science that's over."

"That was…a difficult battle…" Leomon gasped and fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Pipipuhpi…" MarineAngemon agreed as he launched a series of healing bubbles at his comrades, landing on Leomon's shoulder when he was done and letting out a relieved sigh.

"I hate to break up the victory celebrations," MachGaogamon began and pointed towards the main building of the fortress. "But we're not done yet."

An irritated groan left Leomon's throat as he peered over the rear edge of the enormous third wall, seeing well over a hundred Goblimon and dozens of Ogremon advancing slowly towards them. "They really don't know when to give up…"

"They know we're exhausted. It's only a matter of time until they w-"

MachGaogamon's pessimistic prediction was cut off as a red beam of energy suddenly tore straight up through the roof of the prison complex's main building, a green blur moving at incredible speed following close behind it. The blur launched a volley of rockets that detonated in the midst of the Goblimon formation, killing two dozen of them and throwing their ranks into confusion. While the Rookies were milling about aimlessly, torn between fighting and fleeing, a translucent white dome ascended from the ruins of the prison, flying over them towards the walls.

* * *

"It's Rapidmon and Taomon!" WarGrowlmon cheered excitedly as he spotted the white dome looming over the walls, the rabbit following close behind it. "And they've got Sam and Suzie!"

A chorus of cheers erupted from the Tamers gathered around his feet, cheers that only grew louder as the two Ultimates grew closer, the other Digimon following in their wake. The dome touched down noiselessly, Rapidmon landing with a satisfying thud after firing another barrage of rockets at the distant walls to dissuade any pursuers.

"Get on board, quickly!" Taomon said as a doorway opened in the side of the dome. The children complied, their partners de-Digivolving (where appropriate) and joining them as they arrived. Rapidmon was the last to de-Digivolve, letting off one last volley of missiles and rockets that knocked the twin statues of Zhuqiaomon from the top of the third wall's gatehouse before returning to his natural form of Terriermon.

"Heh, sorry, couldn't resist…" he chuckled as he retook his usual seat atop his Tamer's head. Suzie, meanwhile, blinked in surprise and stared at the little Digimon. "Uh, hey Suzie!"

"TEWWIERMON!" she squealed in excitement and grabbed the cream-and-white-furred rabbit before he could escape, hugging him tightly against her chest. "Oh, I knew you were awive! I knew my Pwincess Pwetty Pants would come to save me!"

"Can't…breathe…need…air…" he gasped, earning a sympathetic look from Lopmon.

"I feel your pain…"


	35. Chapter 35

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Fugitives**

Wedneday 17th November – 7:32p.m.

Ashlands, Sovereign Level

Rika and Taomon let out twin sighs of exhaustion as they set the Taijitu disk down and pulled free of their link. They had landed at the mouth of a well-hidden cave at the bottom of a deep ravine, which had been recommended by Ryo and Kazu as a good hiding spot. The kitsune allowed the disk to fade away as she de-Digivolved to Renamon in a flash of light, while her Tamer leaned heavily against the wall outside the cave, fighting for breath.

"You okay, Wildcat?" Ryo asked, his voice tinged with concern.

"I'm fine," the girl gasped in reply. "You sure…this cave is…safe?"

"As sure as I can be. We hid out here the last time we were in the Digital World and Zhuqiaomon and the Devas didn't spot us then."

"Very reassuring," Gaomon muttered sarcastically. "We'd better get inside quickly, just in case there's somebody in the area. We don't want to be spotted."

"Agreed," Ryo nodded, placing a hand on Rika's shoulder. "Come on, you should si-"

"Get. Your hand. Off me!" the redhead snarled and he withdrew his hand quickly as she stood up straight and stomped into the cave. "I'm fine."

"You'd think he'd have learned by now," Kenta whispered to his girlfriend, and she giggled quietly.

"Yeah, right. They're both as stubborn as each other!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the Tamers had set up a rudimentary camp inside the cave, though they dared not risk a campfire. Sam and Suzie were fast asleep at the back of the cave thanks to a quick restorative meal, Lopmon watching over their slumbering forms. They had been in a similar condition to Steph when she had been rescued – covered in cuts and bruises, but otherwise fine. The rest of the group were sat in a circle chatting away, with the exception of Leomon, Jeri, Kenta and MarineAngemon, who were hidden just outside the cave mouth and were keeping watch for Zhuqiaomon's forces.

"I can't believe we did it!" Takato cheered with an ear-to-ear grin. "We just launched a breakout from the most heavily-defended prison in the Digital World!"

"Not to mention the fact that we pretty much destroyed the place in the process," Kazu chuckled. "Zhuqs sure is gonna be pissed off when he finds out…"

"Hmmm, that reminds me," Rika said thoughtfully. "How did you guys manage to do it? I mean, I know Lopmon said that Makuramon managed to screw up half the defence, but how did you manage to tear those giant holes in the first and second walls?"

"Oh, it was easy!" Guilmon laughed cheerfully, flinching when he saw the glare aimed at his Tamer.

"Gogglehead…what did you do?"

"Uh, well…" the begoggled boy began, shifting nervously under Rika's gaze. "Something very, very stupid…"

"I'm too tired for this…okay, how stupid was it? On a scale from 'one' to 'Kazu'?"

"Hey!" the visor-wearing Tamer complained, folding his arms with a 'humph' when he realized that he was being ignored.

"He and WarGrowlmon went all-out berserker and launched a head-on charge into enemy fire," Gaomon began, paying no attention to Takato's frantic motions for him to stop. "Then they tore a chunk out of the first wall and used it to batter a great big hole in the second wall, all while acting as a shield from enemy fire for the rest of us."

"Well, when you put it like that…" the brown-haired boy muttered with a small blush.

"Gogglehead…" Rika sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "That has got to be…_the_ stupidest thing you have _ever _done."

"Is that including the time I decided to see what would happen if I took a Bunsen burner and-"

"_Way_ stupider than that."

"Wait, took a Bunsen burner and did what?" Kazu asked, his interest peaked. "This I gotta hear."

"Let's just say that fire, acid and calculators don't mix," Steph giggled.

"I do not…how…how is that…" Andromon stammered as he struggled to imagine how those three items could possibly be mixed. "I do not want to know, do I?"

"Probably not," Takato admitted.

"And you wonder why I don't let you use my computer," Henry chuckled.

"Anyway…" Ryo began with a grin. "We should probably plan our next moves while we still have a chance. So, where are we gonna go from here? I mean, we have at least three routes open to us."

"Three?" Cam asked with a puzzled frown.

"Yeah. There's the portal to the Hub, the portal to the Mountain Level, or the portal to the Garden Level – the way that we came last time we were here."

"The Garden Level doesn't sound so bad," Terriermon suggested with a thoughtful look.

"Try saying that after being chased by an army of Vegiemon and Blossomon," Kazu snorted. "I'll never eat vegetables again…"

"You don't eat them anyway," Andromon noted with a confused frown.

"That's not the point!"

"The Garden Level may not be the best route," Ryo admitted. "So, that leaves the Mountain Level or the Hub."

"Well, there's no guarantee that the gates sealing the portal on the Mountain Level are even still open," Henry pointed out. "And there's no way we could open them on our own if they're closed. We could end up being trapped between the gates and Zhuqiaomon's forces."

"The Hub it is then," Gaomon nodded.

"There's a problem with that, too," Takato piped up. "The portal to the Hub was guarded last time we were there, and it'll probably be guarded even more heavily now that Zhuqiaomon knows we wanna leave his realm. Plus we'd have to pass pretty close to Gear to get out of there."

"We can probably break through any defences they have if necessary," Ryo countered. "We can just slap a Goliath card on WarGrowlmon or Cyberdramon again if we have to."

"Yeah, remind me why you didn't do that back at the fortress?" Kazu asked with a confused look.

"Great, because I didn't take enough bullets as it was," Cyberdramon grumbled, surprising the others with his rare (at least in his Ultimate form) display of an emotion other than rage. "With the weight of fire they had there, we would have been torn to shreds."

"And Cyberdramon nearly was anyway," Andromon added.

"Well, I guess that settles it," Ryo declared. "We'll head for the gate to the Hub and then head for the Forest Level where we can rest up and plan our next moves." The boy paused for a few seconds, expecting a sarcastic remark from Rika on his sudden leader-like behaviour, and was about to comment on the girl's silence when he saw the reason for it: she was slumped against her partner's shoulder fast asleep, and Renamon didn't look far behind her.

"I think it is time for us to go to bed," Renamon chuckled quietly when she saw that Ryo had noticed her Tamer's state.

"Wow, you two really are exhausted," Takato noted with a small smile. "See you in the morning, then – me and Guilmon can cover for you on watch tonight."

"I…appreciate it. Thank you."

* * *

Renamon gathered her Tamer up in her arms, being careful not to wake her, and carried her to the back of the cave. She set the girl down as gently as she could, placing her in the sleeping bag next to Sam's, and gazed at their slumbering forms with a surge of oddly-maternal protectiveness.

_They are…my family, _the kitsune thought with a sense of pure contentment as she curled up next to the girls, draping her bushy tail over them to help keep them warm. _I have a family._

* * *

Thursday 18th November – 1:20a.m.

Henry suppressed a yawn as he gazed up at the muddy red sky, Terriermon sat with him on a rock just beside his head. The two partners had been on watch for a little over an hour, and Henry hadn't said a word the whole time. Eventually Terriermon decided that something needed to be done to pull his Tamer out of his melancholic mood, or whatever was bothering him would probably fester until the end of time.

"A burden shared," the rabbit said quietly, making the blue-haired boy jump. "Come on, Henry – you haven't said a word since we got out here, and you've got your worrying face on to boot! What's up?"

"Nice to know I'm so easy to read," he chuckled mirthlessly. "I, um…it's about Suzie."

"Suzie?" Terriermon asked with a thoughtful frown. "Oh, I get it. You're worried that she's gonna be totally messed up over being captured and stuff. I wouldn't worry about it Henry – kids are tough, and she's not the type to dwell on stuff. She'll be fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about. But thanks for giving me something else to worry about."

"Uh, oops?" the diminutive Digimon winced. "So…what _is _up?"

"It's…it's about Suzie…and Lopmon," Henry began, taking a deep breath before continuing. "When I became a Tamer, I knew what I was letting myself in for. I knew that I was gonna have to fight against evil Digimon and even though I hate fighting more than anything else, I was willing to do it to protect my family. But now Suzie…"

"You're scared that because Suzie's become a Tamer she'll have to fight too?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I know me and the others are pretty young by anybody's standards, but Suzie's seven years old – she really is just a kid! She shouldn't have to go through all this crap!"

"Momentai, Henry," Terriermon said softly. "Just 'cause she's a Tamer doesn't mean she has to fight."

"That didn't exactly go so well when we tried it," the boy pointed out.

"Doesn't mean it can't work for her. Part of the problem with us was that we had different opinions – you didn't want to fight, but I thought it was necessary. And guess who got proven right…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Henry muttered and rolled his eyes.

"But anyway, I don't think Lopmon's the type to enjoy fighting, and she definitely won't want to drag Suzie into it. And besides, it really _was _necessary for us to fight, but with Suzie it isn't. I mean, apart from her, there's like four other Tamers living in England now! She won't have to fight unless she wants to, and I think it'll be snowing in hell before that day comes."

"You're probably right," Henry sighed, frowning as a series of mild tremors ran through the ground. "What the…is it an earthquake?"

"I didn't think the Digital World got them," Terriermon replied with a confused frown of his own. "Slash a Hyper Wing card, I'll fly out of the valley and see what's happening."

* * *

Sovereign's Palace – 1:05a.m.

"Damn that filthy, no good rabbit!" Makuramon snarled as he stormed moodily up the near-endless staircase leading up to Zhuqiaomon's tower, the jagged structure rising out of the peak of an enormous mountain like an enormous, elongated clawed hand grasping for the sky. _She made me look like a fool! Plus she killed Caturamon – __**I**__ wanted to be the one to do that! The 'Divine Lord' Zhuqiaomon is not going to be happy…_

A few minutes later, the monkey was stood in the entrance hall of the enormous tower, waiting for the ForgeTankmon he had sent to inform the Sovereign of his presence to return. Several minutes after that, the tank-like Digimon returned, its right arm reduced to a small lump of softly-glowing, misshapen metal.

"The Divine Lord Zhuqiaomon will see you now," it intoned. "Caution: the Sovereign does not appreciate being woken at this hour. Please note the damage to this unit's right arm. There is a strong possibility that He may inflict His divine wrath upon…"

"Yeah, yeah," Makuramon grumbled and absent-mindedly launched a fireball at the tank, completing what the irritable Sovereign had started and melting the unfortunate Digimon down into a pile of molten slag.

* * *

"I trust that you have a good reason for waking me," Zhuqiaomon growled as Makuramon lay prostrated before him on what had been dubbed the 'grovelling platform' that encircled the massive Sovereign. "I can only think of a few scenarios would cause you to be foolish enough to interrupt my rest – I am hoping that our experiments with the human children have finally borne fruit…"

"Not…exactly, my Lord," the monkey began hesitantly, wincing as the phoenix's aura of heat suddenly increased dramatically in temperature. "I bring news of a terrible betrayal by one of my dearest brethren, one of your most trusted servants. A betrayal that strikes deep into my h-"

"ENOUGH OF YOUR THEATRICS!" the Sovereign roared and grabbed Makuramon in his massive talons, hopping forwards and slamming him against one of the chamber's walls. "Tell me what happened. _Now._"

"Y-yes, holy one," Makuramon gulped, writhing in his master's burning grip. "Antylamon has betrayed us – not only did she slay Caturamon and join the humans, she allowed herself to form a link with one of the humans! She has become an Abomination!"

"You LIE!" Zhuqiaomon screamed and slammed the Deva against the wall again. "My favoured daughter would _never _forsake me!"

"My deepest regrets, Lord, but it is true. Her betrayal wounds me, too. It cuts me deeper than any blade could ever h-"

"If you do not shut your snivelling mouth, I shall prove you very wrong indeed on that point," the phoenix growled with barely-restrained fury. "Now, I order you to tell me the truth! Where is Antylamon?"

"She is with the Tamers, Lord. She betrayed us," the monkey insisted. "Your sacred prison fortress stands as a testament to her betrayal…or, rather, it doesn't stand at all because of it."

"WHAT?" Zhuqiaomon bellowed, flames billowing off of his form and washing across the specially-reinforced walls of his temple. "You _lost _the fortress?"

"It was not I, oh sacred one, but Caturamon who failed you!" Makuramon lied. "I placed him in command of the walls, reasoning that his superior experience as a commander in war would allow him to lead a more effective defence than I ever could. However, things…did not go to plan."

"If I have to tell you one more time about your theatrics…"

"Apologies, Lord. I beg your forgiveness. But yes, Caturamon was ordered to watch over our defence forces. When the enemy mounted the second wall, however, he ordered our units to open fire on the enemy much earlier than he was supposed to."

"Am I supposed to believe this…nonsense?" Zhuqiaomon sneered. "Caturamon was my most experienced General! He would never have made such a ridiculous mistake."

"I believe that it was not a mistake, Lord, but an attempt to make me look foolish and regain the position of Commander of the Devas. He may even have intended his plot to end with my death. Look into my mind if you doubt me, oh holy one!"

"Hmmm…" the Sovereign mumbled thoughtfully and glared at his Deva. "That will not be necessary! In my omniscience, I can quite clearly see that your faith is strong and your words are true."

"A thousand times a thousand thanks, oh benevolent Sovereign," Makuramon grovelled, bowing as best he could while still remaining gripped in his Sovereign's talons.

"Yes, yes. Now, continue with your account."

"Of course, Lord. When I realized what Caturamon had done, I rushed to the walls and attempted to salvage what I could of the defences. Seeing that our position was untenable, I ordered a retreat of our forces inside the prison and left the ForgeTankmon as a rearguard. I then went in pursuit of Caturamon to make him answer for his crimes, but Antylamon had beaten me to him.

"She had met up with Caturamon near the cells and followed him to the humans' cell, where she murdered him and set the prisoners free. I arrived too late to prevent her treachery, however, and found myself outnumbered by the Abominations who had joined her. I was gravely wounded in the battle, but our retreating Goblimon forces saved my life – they launched a suicidal attack on the Abominations and begged me to escape, that I might inform you of the horrifying events that had occurred at the fortress."

"My, you inspire such loyalty from your troops," Zhuqiaomon marvelled, completely taken in by his manipulative subordinate's tall tale. "It truly was a wise decision to appoint you as leader of my Devas."

"I learned from the greatest of teachers, oh divine one," Makuramon replied. "Unfortunately, the Abominations annihilated the entirety of our retreating forces before leaving the battlefield themselves."

Makuramon had to suppress a giggle as he saw the furious expression that crossed the Sovereign's face. In reality, the Deva had caught up with those elements of his forces that had fled their posts and annihilated them all in a fit of indignant rage, the Goblimon and Ogremon providing easy targets for him to vent his frustration upon.

"This insult shall not go unpunished!" the phoenix snarled and dropped the monkey. "It is obvious to me that these Abominations have embraced some dark, unholy source of power. It is the only explanation for how they were able to defeat my invincible armies!"

"It is the only logical conclusion, Lord."

"Therefore, I can clearly see that it is necessary for them to be struck down with the holiest of weapons!" he declared, drawing himself up to his full height and spreading his wings dramatically. "They shall be purged with the holy fires of divine wrath! I shall smite them with the full force of my righteous fury! I SHALL BURN THE ABOMINATIONS MYSELF!"

* * *

A circular hatch on the ceiling of Zhuqiaomon's temple irised open, and he leapt into the air, soaring through the opening atop a column of fire.

_The Abominations will regret the day they crossed me! _the phoenix thought furiously. _As will Antylamon…the traitor…_

_No! She could never have betrayed me – Makuramon must be mistaken. She must have…she must have infiltrated the Abominations to destroy them from within! Yes, that must be it. Now, I wonder where she is…_

With a thought, the Sovereign sent a signal out through the Digital World that reached deep into the minds of his remaining Devas, activating a secret locator program that even Caturamon hadn't known about. He sensed three distinct signals – one, larger and stronger than the others, inside his tower. One in the Hub – that would be Majiramon, who was overseeing the reconstruction of Phoenix Tower. One out in the wastelands of his domain, where there should be nothing but ash and dust.

"I see you…"

* * *

Terriermon did a couple of barrel rolls to get used to his new Hyper Wings before soaring gracefully up out of the chasm. He landed noiselessly atop a rock pillar a few metres away from the ravine and began looking around cautiously as his wings disintegrated into data.

What he saw terrified him almost to the point of insanity.

"_I see you…"_

* * *

"HENRY!" the rabbit screamed as he glided back down into the ravine, using his ears as a makeshift parachute. "Henry, wake everybody up! We gotta move NOW!"

"What, why?"

"He's here! Zhuqiaomon is here!"

* * *

Seconds later, the pair's frantic shouts had woken the rest of the group and they quickly started debating what to do while Cyberdramon kept watch outside.

"We have to get out of here," Kenta blurted, on the verge of panic. "We gotta try and outrun him, or else we're-"

"There's no way we can outrun him! He moves faster than I thought anything could ever move," Terriermon moaned.

"We'll split up, then," Ryo declared. "That way he shouldn't be able to chase all of us down. Rapidmon and MachGaogamon are the fastest, so they can take Steph, Suzie, Sam, Lopmon and Hawkmon while the rest of us try to distract him. Everybody else meet back at Sage's place as soon as possible, okay?"

* * *

After a series of Matrix Digivolution cards were slashed, the Digimon tore out of the cave and began climbing, jumping or flying out of the ravine as fast as they could move. Taomon and Andromon emerged first, their Tamers clinging onto their backs as the two Ultimates launched a barrage of fire that simply bounced off of the Sovereign's shield of pure heat as Rapidmon and MachGaogamon rocketed out of the canyon, heading for the portal to the Hub as fast as their engines could carry them. MarineAngemon, Leomon, WarGrowlmon, Cyberdramon and their Tamers soon joined them, unleashing volleys of their most powerful attacks before scattering in completely opposite directions. A cry that was something between ecstasy and rage tore from Zhuqiaomon's throat as he gave chase, bearing down on Andromon and lashing out with a whip of fire that emerged from one of the Digi-cores orbiting his neck. The android was sent crashing face-first into the ground, narrowly avoiding crushing his Tamer beneath his considerable bulk as the whip came around for a second strike. Instead of slicing him in half, however, it wrapped around the android's silver form, encasing him and his Tamer in a spherical cage of fire that somehow managed not to burn them.

A mad cackle escaped the phoenix's beak as the cage rose into the air, carefully selecting his next victim as the fiery prison started hovering next to his magnificent form. Spying the distant form of Taomon encased in a shield-dome, her Tamer cradled in her arms, he let out another cry and gave chase, catching up with the kitsune in less than half a minute. The first strike from his flame-whip popped her bubble like an oversized balloon, the second strike slamming into the vulpine Digimon's robed form and sending her plummeting towards the ground. Taomon managed to regain some semblance of control over her fall just in time to roll over so that she landed on her back, cushioning the impact for Rika and preventing her bones from being reduced to jelly. A second flame cage appeared around the duo as Taomon reverted to her Rookie form of Renamon in a flash of brilliant white light.

As they saw Taomon so casually torn out of the sky, Ryo and Cyberdramon immersed themselves in their link and let out a furious roar as the black-armoured dragon executed a snap-turn and tore towards the insane Sovereign, flinging a Desolation Claw attack at his enormous frame. Zhuqiaomon countered with a flick of his wing, sending a wave of fire washing over the dragon's form and launching him into an uncontrolled dive. A flame cage materialized around the dragon and his Tamer as they fell, catching them like a giant safety net.

WarGrowlmon was the next to fall, his massive bulk making him easy to make out against the horizon. A pair of flame whips restrained his arms as a third battered against his armoured torso repeatedly, beating him into submission despite his Tamer's frantic slashing of practically every card he had. MarineAngemon and Leomon, who had fled together inside one of the fairy's heart-shaped bubbles, were quickly run down and encased in separate cages, their Tamers crying out in agony as their respective links were flooded with pain.

_Two to go, _Zhuqiaomon cackled mentally as he set off in pursuit of his remaining prey.

* * *

"Come on, come _on_," Cam muttered as he spared a quick glance over at Rapidmon. The rabbit-like robot was cradling Henry, Suzie and Lopmon in his arms, while Cam, Steph, Hawkmon and Sam were huddled together in the arms of his lupine counterpart, hanging on to his long fur for dear life.

"I'm scared," the boy heard Sam whimper. "What happened to Rika? Is she gonna be okay?"

"Everything's gonna be fine," Steph reassured her, her voice quavering quite noticeably and her assurances sounding hollow even over the roar of MachGaogamon's engines. "Rika can take care of herself – she's been through worse than this."

Any chance for further conversation was brutally cut short as a massive bolt of fire slammed into Rapidmon's back, sending him cartwheeling towards the ground with a deafening bang. A second bolt quickly followed the first, wrapping around his form suddenly to form a spherical cage around him and his charges as the rabbit de-Digivolved before rocketing back in the direction the attacks had come from.

"NO!" Sam wailed as she saw her friends so brutally captured.

"Hold on!" MachGaogamon warned his own passengers as he launched into a series of wild evasive manoeuvres, barely managing to dodge two separate fireballs that tore massive craters in the earth below him. A sudden feral shriek assaulted the werewolf's eardrums as he felt something strike him hard between the shoulder blades, and he let out a strangled cry as his engines spluttered and died. A second blow struck him just below the kidneys, sending him spiralling towards the ground before a flame cage finally appeared around his pain-wracked form.

"BOLLOCKS!" Cam shouted as his partner de-Digivolved in a flash of light. His initial anger faded into a numb horror as he realized that he and his friends were completely trapped. They had failed.

"What do we do?" Ryo asked from the next cage over, fighting to keep calm. "Come on, people – give me some ideas here!"

"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do, _human_," a voice that was overflowing with madness laughed maniacally. "The day has come when you will finally be judged for your sins! JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED!"

At this, the eight cages rearranged themselves on the ground in front of Zhuqiaomon, leaving the Sovereign to tower over the defeated children and Digimon.

"Come on, don't just stand there! Do something!" Takato shouted as he immersed himself in his link with his severely-weakened partner. "**PYRO SPHERE!**"

"**BUNNY BLASTER!**"

"**GATLING ATTACK!**"

"**FIST OF THE BEAST KING!**"

Zhuqiaomon didn't even flinch as the barrage of attacks slammed into his massive form and bounced off without having any effect. A second and third volley managed to elicit a chuckle from the titanic Sovereign, and after a fourth volley he grew bored of his little game.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, the flames making up the cases encasing his captives flaring hotter and brighter. "Cease this pointless resistance or I shall kill _all _of you!"

The Digimon quickly complied as their Tamers were almost overwhelmed by the sudden increase in temperature, more than one of them coming close to toppling over and passing out.

"_This _is the great force that brought down my impenetrable fortress?" Zhuqiaomon sneered as he toned down the heat of his cages slightly, though not back to the original level – he was enjoying watching the children struggling to remain on their feet far too much to show such mercy. "How pathetic. I expected a bit more of a challenge."

"Stop this!" a voice cried out and Lopmon stepped forwards, glaring furiously at the phoenix. "Please, stop! The humans mean us no harm!"

"Is that…Antylamon? You de-Digivolved?" the Sovereign muttered thoughtfully and shook his head. "It is of no matter. You can drop the act now, my loyal servant. Your infiltration mission was a success!"

"Infiltration? What are you…?"

"I must say, you have done well!" Zhuqiaomon continued obliviously. "You have succeeded where Makuramon failed – you have managed to trick one of the humans into forming a bond with you. Ah, my dear, dear Antylamon – you always were my favourite. You will receive a promotion for this – you can replace that incompetent chimp as head of my Devas!"

"You really are a fool," Lopmon whispered to herself.

"WHAT?" the phoenix roared furiously.

"I said that you are a fool!" the little brown rabbit repeated. "You are a mad, delusional fool who bullies innocent people into submission! I used to be proud of being a Deva, of being a force for justice, before I realized I was nothing but a pawn for your ambitions. Well, this pawn will not be used any longer! I hereby renounce my membership in the Devas and from this day forth, I no longer recognize you as my lord or my god!"

"You…insolent…ungrateful…worthless WASTE OF DATA!" Zhuqiaomon screamed. "YOU WILL BURN FOR YOUR HERESY! YOU WILL ALL BURN! **DESOLATION BLAST!**"

* * *

As the wave of fire tore towards the group, time stood still for two individuals: one human, one Digimon.

_Is this karma? Is this my just punishment? _Hawkmon asked himself. _Then so be it. I will accept my fate._

_It can't end like this… _Steph moaned mentally. _Not after we got so far. We're so close…_

_No, this can't be karma. The humans – they shouldn't have to suffer with me!_

_I don't want to die…_

_Maybe it's part of my redemption – do I give my life to save them?_

_There has to be something I can do…_

_But how could I save them? There's nothing I can do. I'm too…_

…_weak. All I am is dead weight – I can't help them…_

…_fight, I can't do anything! They had to carry me away while they…_

…_fought to save my life. I'm just so…_

…_pathetic…_

_NO! I won't give up!_

_Renamon was right – I have to fight! I'm not gonna…_

…_give up! I'm not gonna let them win!_

_**I**_

_**WILL**_

_**FIGHT!**_

"**BIO-MERGE ACTIVATE!**"

* * *

Seconds before Zhuqiaomon's attack hit, Steph and Hawkmon stepped forwards into the path of the fire, their flame cage disintegrating into data. Both of their bodies began to glow with a golden light as they rose into the air, their outlines blurring and merging as a sphere of pure, white light formed around them. In the space of a single heartbeat, the sphere expanded until it shielded the entire group of children and Digimon from Zhuqiaomon's attack, then shattered as soon as the flames had spent themselves to reveal a graceful, beautiful bird that was the polar opposite of the fiery Zhuqiaomon.

Its body was covered in pale blue, almost-white feathers, a long, serpentine tail snaking away behind its slender upper body. Three pairs of massive wings, the largest with a span of around thirty metres, flowed from its body, their entire lengths blazing with golden light. The rearmost pair of wings emerged from where its legs should have been, and each wing was adorned with a single yellow-skinned foot that bore the razor-sharp talons of a bird of prey. Its head was adorned with a pair of grey-brown horns that curved gently back from the top of its head and a pair of small, ear-like wings fluttered just behind its eyes where they peered out from a red-tipped, yellow beak that covered most of its head. A mane of sea-green feathers protruded from beneath the beak and encircled the top of its long neck, a similar mass of feathers decorating the area between its leg-wings like an enormous, extravagant loincloth. When the enormous bird spoke, it spoke in two voices at once – two voices that were very familiar to the children and Digimon behind it.

"You will not hurt my friends!" it declared, a rainbow-like halo of light shimmering into existence around its body.

"Valdurmon…" Ryo whispered to himself in an awed tone.

"Is that…that sounded like Hawkmon!" Takato gasped incredulously. "And _Steph_?"

"W-what?" Zhuqiaomon spluttered. "A human and Digimon have…merged? This is…you…ABOMINATION! You will be purged! **Blazing Helix!**"

"**Purge Shine!**" Valdurmon cried in reply, a warm, golden light spreading from its wings all across its body. Zhuqiaomon's twin helices of fire slammed into the bird's glowing form, washing over it and failing to penetrate the shield of light. Suddenly, Valdurmon's halo shone painfully-bright and the remaining flame cages encasing its friends disappeared, the children and Digimon formerly imprisoned in them rising slowly into the air towards the massive Mega-level Digimon. "Grab hold of my feathers!" it called in its strange, male/female split voice. "I have a plan…"

The levitating humans and Digimon did as they were told, the barrier of light covering Valdurmon's feathers surrounding them as well as they grabbed onto its feathers. When they were all secure, Valdurmon rose into the air with a single, slow beat of its massive wings and glared at the Sovereign.

"Justice _will_ be served," the glowing bird spat as its halo glowed ever brighter. "**Jouka no Hikari!**"

A colossal beam of pure white light tore from Valdurmon's rainbow-halo and slammed into Zhuqiaomon, sending him flying several hundred metres backwards. Unfortunately, his shield of heat still held, and apart from being severely dazzled and plagued by afterimages from the searing light, he was unharmed. The attack cleared an escape route for Valdurmon, however, and the massive bird soared past the dazed Sovereign, tearing away into the muddy red sky at speeds that put even Rapidmon to shame. By the time Zhuqiaomon had regained the use of his eyes, the Tamers and their charges were long gone.

Valdurmon flew perfectly straight for a little over two minutes, covering a distance almost equal to what the other Tamers and their Digimon could cover on foot in two days. Very soon, it reached the portal to the Hub Level and dove straight through with a victorious cry, ignoring the hail of fire from the ForgeTankmon guarding the far side as its aura of light washed over them, vaporising them instantly. Valdurmon let out another cry as it wheeled around towards the nearby mountains, keeping low so as to avoid detection from nearby Gear.

* * *

Hub Level – 1:44a.m.

Valdurmon stumbled as it set down on the side of the mountain, almost falling into the abyss that loomed behind it. The aura of light around the bird's feathers had grown incredibly faint, its halo had disappeared about a minute ago and it was obviously exhausted. It had still managed to stay airborne long enough to find a decent-sized cave for its friends to rest in, however, and had landed right outside the entrance. As the last of its passengers disentangled themselves from its feathers, Valdurmon was consumed by an intense white light that faded after a few seconds to reveal Steph and Hawkmon, both laid unconscious on the ground next to an all-white D-Arc.

"How…how is this possible?" Jeri whispered as her partner lifted the duo and carried them carefully towards the cave. "A human and a Digimon…fusing together…"

"Are…are they okay?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"I checked and they're both breathing, they both have a pulse," Kenta replied. "I think they're just exhausted."

"I wonder…what it felt like," Henry said as he gazed at the unconscious girl.

"Takatomon, will that happen to us when I Digivolve to Mega?" Guilmon asked.

"I don't know, boy," his Tamer mumbled and scratched the saurian absent-mindedly behind the ears.

"We should all try to get some sleep," Renamon suggested. "It's still over three hours until dawn. They may have woken up by then – who knows."


	36. Chapter 36

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Celebrate**

Thursday 18th November – 2:23a.m.

Ashlands, Sovereign Level

_I feel…strange. Where…am I? _Steph thought as she looked around at her surroundings, finding herself floating inside a transparent white ball that was surrounded by darkness, red gridlines imposed on the black expanse. At the same time, however, she could see the Ashlands of Zhuqiaomon's realm overlaid on her vision. _I can see…how is this possible? What's happening?_

_"We have merged," _the familiar, awestruck voice of Hawkmon said softly in her ear and the girl span around, seeing nothing but more darkness.

_"Where are you? And how can you be reading my thoughts?" _she asked with more than a hint of confusion. _"And where am I?"_

_"I am in the Ashlands, as are you, in a way. We have somehow merged into one being – my Mega form of Valdurmon."_

_"How…why…"_

_"I do not know, but perhaps we should save the questions until later. We have a Sovereign to defeat."_

As the bird spoke, Steph realized that he sounded different than normal – he sounded much more confident, less shy than he usually did. As this realization washed over her, a second, larger epiphany struck the girl.

_"I'm not afraid either," _she whispered to herself. _"That's why I feel so…weird. I'm not even a little nervous. It's been so long, I can't remember a time when I wasn't scared or nervous about something, and…WHY AM I NAKED IN HERE?"_

_"You think you have it bad, you're looking at the inside of my DigiCore! Do you have **any **idea how embarrassing this is?"_

* * *

Hub Level – 10:23a.m.

"She's waking up!" Steph heard a voice call out as she stirred, opening her eyes with a groan. "Good morning, sleepy head."

"Whoa, déjà vu," the blonde-haired girl mumbled as she found herself looking at the smiling face of Henry Wong. "What happened? Did we get away?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Henry gasped with an incredulous look.

"I'm guessing from the look on your face that my dream about turning into a giant bird with a halo made out of rainbows was a little bit more than a dream…"

"Damn straight!" Terriermon chuckled from his Tamer's shoulder. "You totally kicked Zhuqiaomon's butt!"

"No, we didn't," Steph muttered and glanced away. "We didn't even scratch him – all we did was stun him for a few seconds."

"And save our lives in the process," Rika noted with a small smile as she approached the taller girl's sleeping bag. "If it wasn't for you and Hawkmon, we probably wouldn't be here right now."

"How is Hawkmon? Is he…?"

"He woke up about twenty minutes ago," the redhead replied. "He's just gone to get some food – he said he'd bring some back for you, too. Oh, that reminds me – I think this is yours."

Steph's eyes went wide as Rika handed her a D-Arc with a white ring around the screen. "Is this…does this mean…?"

"I don't see how _this_ can possibly be a surprise after yesterday," Hawkmon chuckled quietly as he stepped into the cave with an armful of bread and fruit. "How are you feeling, Tamer?"

"Okay, I guess," the blonde-haired girl replied. "Pretty much everything after blasting Zhuqiaomon is a blur, though."

"Same here. I'm not surprised, really – we put nearly all of our power into that one attack."

"Which explains why you both ended up taking an extended nap," Terriermon giggled.

"Uh, how long were we out?" Steph asked her new partner. "What day is it?"

"It's Thursday – don't worry, we were only out for about eight hours."

"Phew…" she sighed. "So, is everyone okay?"

"A few cuts and bruises, Kazu has one hell of a headache and is giving everyone else one complaining…" Ryo chuckled as he approached with his partner. "Oh, and Cyberdramon got busted back to Monodramon here."

"Hi!" the little purple dragon greeted her cheerfully.

"Is that _really _Cyberdramon?" Hawkmon asked with an open-mouthed stare. "But he's so…so…"

"Cheerful?" Monodramon offered with a grin.

"Yeah, his personality's pretty different depending on what level he's at," his Tamer explained. "Don't ask why – we're not sure ourselves."

"So, what's the plan?" Steph asked as she sat up and started digging into the plateful of fruits provided by Hawkmon.

"Well, you two managed to fly us pretty close to the gate to the Forest Level," Henry noted. "It's only about two or three hours away from here on foot – we'll be setting off as soon as everybody's ready. When we get there, we'll head for Sage's place. I think the plans right now are to rest there for a day or so – everybody's pretty exhausted at the moment."

"Sounds good," the newly-minted Tamer nodded, then frowned as a sudden thought struck her. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know what the date is, would you? I completely lost track of time back in…prison."

"That's understandable, considering that stupid realm doesn't even have a real day and night," Monodramon replied with a sympathetic grin.

"Uh, I think the D-Arcs have the date on here somewhere," Ryo said and grabbed his D-Arc, pressing a series of buttons before frowning in confusion. "Huh…apparently it's the 30th of February…1452"

"Well, mine says the 18th of November," Henry chuckled. "You might wanna get that thing looked at. If it's getting the date _that _badly wrong, who knows what else it'll do!"

"Yeah, you don't want it to misread a speed card as a Rock Armour card or something…" Terriermon giggled.

"Wait, did you say it's the 18th?" Rika asked.

"Oh, crap – it's Jeri's birthday tomorrow!" Ryo cursed. "Well, I guess we have a pretty good excuse for not buying her a present."

"I hope Sam is that understanding," the redhead muttered. "It's her birthday _today_."

"WOOHOO!" Terriermon cheered suddenly, nearly making his Tamer jump out of his skin. "Party at Sage's house!"

"You know, Rabbitmon, that's actually not a bad idea…"

* * *

The Tamers set off about half an hour later, after Steph had fully regained her strength and felt well enough to ride on Andromon's shoulder with Kazu. Ryo and Monodramon, meanwhile, were forced to ride Gaogamon with Cam, as the dragon had still not re-Digivolved to his Ultimate form. Henry's estimate was proven to be reasonably accurate – it took the children a little over three hours to hike over the mountains and reach the portal to the Forest Level, finding it lightly guarded despite its position overlooking the City of Gear. They would have been able to knock around an hour off of their travel time were it not for the fact that they had to take a rather circuitous route so as to avoid the squads of Guardromon and ForgeTankmon that were guarding the pass leading to the portal.

Sam, meanwhile, took the revelation that she was (in a sense) missing her birthday remarkably well – much better than her sister expected. On being told, she merely shrugged, smiled and said that being freed was the best birthday present she could have asked for.

* * *

Forest Level – 2:22p.m.

"This pwace is pwetty…" Suzie sighed as she gazed around at the beautiful, verdant landscape of the forest level. The Tamers had just emerged from the tunnels leading to the portal to the Hub, and were greeted with a view of enormous trees and blooming wildflowers.

"Sage's place is only a few miles from here – it shouldn't take long to get there if we all keep riding," Henry told his sister as she shifted restlessly on Growlmon's back.

"Can't I get off and wun awound and pway a bit? Pwease?" the little girl begged and turned on her best puppy-dog eyes. "I've been sitting up here for hours…"

"Not right now, Suzie. It's too dangerous."

"But Henwy…"

"He's right, Suzie," Lopmon said softly, shifting in the girl's vicelike grip so that she could look up at her face. "There could be nasty Digimon out in the forest – it's too dangerous for you to go off alone."

"But I'd have you with me, Wopmon…"

"Even so, it might be best to wait until we get to Sage's Valley."

"Yeah, that place is great!" Growlmon joined in enthusiastically. "The forest is totally safe, there's this _huge _waterfall – you can even go swimming in the lake!"

"And you'll get to do all that stuff even sooner if we keep moving now," Lopmon finished, noticing the dreamy glint in her Tamer's eye.

"Okay…" Suzie relented eventually.

_Wow, who'd have thought Growlmon would be good with kids? _Takato chuckled mentally as the group resumed their walking. _Then again, he basically __is __a big kid himself, as Rika loves to point out…_

* * *

Zhuqiaomon's Palace, Sovereign Level – 2:25p.m.

"My Lord Zhuqiaomon," Majiramon growled and attempted to bow, his serpentine body making the resulting act rather bizarre.

"This had better be good news, Majiramon," the enormous phoenix snarled as he looked down on the dragon, who lay prostrated on the shattered remains of the grovelling ring. The platform, along with a large part of the Sovereign's audience chamber, had been severely damaged after Zhuqiaomon had returned from his pursuit of the Tamers empty-handed and had decided to vent his frustration on the surrounding architecture. "I grow tired of the repeated failures of my so-called elites."

"I…regretfully inform you that the news I bring is quite definitely bad, oh holy one. My forces scoured the Hub for the Abominations, but we were unable to find them."

"Then keep searching!" Zhuqiaomon screeched, sending waves of fire crashing into the cracked walls of his chamber.

"That may be a pointless exercise, lord. We have discovered evidence that they may have left the Hub altogether. The gate leading to the Forest Level was-"

"You LET THEM ESCAPE? I specifically ordered that the portals leading from the Hub be heavily guarded!"

"It was guarded my lord, but they came in over the mountains and managed to avoid the bulk of the defences," Majiramon blurted desperately.

"So, you are guilty of incompetence rather than insubordination," the Sovereign sneered. "You will be punished for your stupidity. Guards!"

A quartet of ForgeTankmon trundled into the room and positioned themselves next to the door. A look of sheer terror crossed Majiramon's face as he looked from the newcomers and back to his master.

"Lord, I know I have failed you, but-"

"ENOUGH!" Zhuqiaomon interrupted. "If you cannot serve me competently as a commander, then I shall have to find another use for you. Take him to the laboratory, and prepare subjects one and two for siphoning."

_This will be an interesting experiment, _the deranged phoenix thought as Majiramon was practically dragged away by the ForgeTankmon. _The developments provided by Antylamon have given me new insights into the bond between human and Abomination. It is…__fortunate__ that Majiramon's incompetence has provided me with the perfect test subject._

* * *

Sage's Valley, Forest Level – 2:31p.m.

"Whoa…" Steph breathed as Andromon emerged from the tunnel and into the warm sunlight, the idyllic beauty of Sage's home greeting her eyes as soon as they had adjusted to the light.

"Yeah, that was pretty much everybody's reaction the first time," Kazu chuckled.

"It's so…pretty…" Sam whispered as a small smile crossed her sister's face.

"You can say that again."

Suzie, meanwhile, was completely dumbstruck by the sight of her surroundings. Unfortunately, her grip had unconsciously tightened around Lopmon, who she was still holding like a stuffed animal, causing the little brown rabbit to turn an odd shade of blue beneath her fur.

"Uh, Suzie? I think you're holding Lopmon a little too tightly…" Henry warned her.

"Sowwy," the girl mumbled absent-mindedly without loosening her grip.

"I think she's a little too distracted to listen to you right now," Sage chuckled in his baritone voice as he emerged from a small patch of trees just to the right of the group. "Welcome back to my humble abode. Should I assume that you were successful in your mission?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Cam grinned with a sly glance at Steph. "We ran into a couple of surprises along the way, too."

"Oh, really? You'll have to tell me about that…but first: let's eat!"

* * *

Sage's Tree – 3:52p.m.

"So, let me get this straight," Sage began with what may have been an incredulous expression, the shadows cast by his hood obscuring most of his face. "Not only did Hawkmon and Steph become partners, they also Digivolved to Mega level by merging into one being and proceeded to do enough damage to Zhuqiaomon to buy you time to escape."

"That's pretty much it, yeah," the blonde-haired girl mumbled around a mouthful of roast turkey. Sage had provided them with a massive victory feast and most of the children had been unable to finish half of what they were given. The feast had also been declared an impromptu birthday party for Sam, and she, Suzie and Steph were the only humans who had managed to reach a second helping, matching the Digimon mouthful-for-mouthful as they tore frenziedly into their meals.

"Fascinating…" the hooded Digimon whispered to himself. "I had never considered the possibility that humans and Digimon could…what did you call it? 'Bio-merge'?"

"I think that's what we shouted, yes," Hawkmon replied as he proceeded to tear into a cluster of roast potatoes like a starving 'mon.

"Incredible…"

"You think that's incredible, you should've seen 'em in action!" Kazu laughed. "I mean, Valdurmon took that blast from Zhuqs without even flinching! And don't even get me started on that 'Jouka no Hikari' attack."

"It really wasn't that great," Hawkmon muttered with what might have been a blush. "There's no way we could have kept fighting like that for more than a couple of minutes."

"Yes, the amount of energy required to maintain that shield must have been incredible – far beyond what would be sustainable," Andromon mused as he finally pushed his plate away.

"It was still pretty awesome, though," Ryo chuckled. "I mean, it's not every day that you're saved by an incarnation of a Norse god."

"Do you think that all of us will Bio-merge when we Digivolve to Mega?" Guilmon asked as he reached out and grabbed Andromon's abandoned plate, digging into the leftovers piled up on it.

"It is a distinct possibility," Sage nodded and gazed at the table thoughtfully. "If anything, it is more likely to happen to the rest of you than it was to Steph, as you all have stronger bonds with your partners due to the length of your partnerships, and have made use of your links in battle."

The conversation quickly turned towards topics that were less serious in nature as the Digimon finished eating one by one, Sage's limitless supplies of food ensuring that they only stopped eating when they were well and truly full. When Guilmon had finally polished off his fifth plate of assorted meats and vegetables, the children and Digimon began moving off sluggishly towards the lounge area. Rika and Renamon, however, lagged behind the others, waiting until they had all left and were out of hearing range before turning to Sage.

"Um, Sage? Can I ask you something?" the girl asked hesitantly.

"Would it happen to be about what happened when you rescued Hawkmon?" the hooded Digimon chuckled with a knowing grin.

"How did you…?" Rika began, frowning and rolling her eyes as an answer came to her. "Oh, right, let me guess. You were watching us again."

"Actually, my scrying capabilities within the Hub were disabled when the Sovereign's forces eliminated the rebels – they took out a relay station that was necessary to maintain the signal," he replied. "I only managed to figure it out because I know that Taomon would probably have been unable to fix the damage caused to Hawkmon even if you had both been at full strength, never mind after so much strenuous activity."

"So…what happened?" Renamon asked, a subconscious flick of her tail betraying her concern for her Tamer.

"I believe that the strength of your desire to help Hawkmon, combined with the stark contrast with the horrifying environment at the time, granted you the power to heal him."

"Wait a minute," the redhead said with a sceptical frown. "You're saying that we managed to save Hawkmon…just because _I _wanted to?"

"Basically, yes," Sage nodded. "It's a little more complicated than that, especially when you add in the environmental factors and the emotions of the other living things nearby."

"How is that possible?" her partner asked.

"The Digital World is comprised primarily of data, and data can be manipulated by a strong enough will. The same thing happens when you use your link with Renamon – the strength of your bond gives her literal, physical strength," the dark-skinned Digimon explained with a toothy grin. "Simply put, emotion has power in the Digital World."

"All emotions? Even the bad ones?" Rika asked with a small frown.

"There are no bad emotions," Sage countered. "All emotions have the capacity to appear in ways that can be labelled both good and evil. Take happiness, for example. Normally that would be a 'good' emotion, but can it truly be considered good when it is derived from the suffering or deaths of innocents?"

"But what about anger, or hatred? Aren't they always bad?"

"No, but they are much harder emotions to control than most others. Anger can be a powerful motivational tool when directed against somebody who has wronged you or your friends. Hatred, when directed at a specific person, can drive you to accomplish feats you would never have thought possible – though, in the case of hatred, it is important to prevent your hate from spilling over into obsession. In the Digital World, the consequences of any emotion running out of control can be unimaginably severe, though in this case I doubt there was any danger to you or anyone else."

"I…think I get it," Rika nodded thoughtfully. "So it's nothing to worry about? I'm not about to burst into purple flames or anything?"

"Nothing to worry about," Sage confirmed. "Though it is rare for emotions to be strong enough to have such a drastic effect. You should be proud – not many people could have done what you did, even if you didn't really mean to do it."

"Uh, thanks…"

* * *

"Man, I still can't believe we did it," Kazu sighed and sat down on an Ikkakumon-fur rug placed in front of a roaring log fire. Monodramon and Guilmon were curled up close to the flickering flames, soft snores rumbling out from their slumbering forms. "We're so close to actually getting home again…"

"Yes, all we have to do is get through the Swamp, Jungle, Ocean and Desert Levels," Gaomon muttered sarcastically. "And that was _so _easy last time."

"You know what I mean!" the boy muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We're out of Zhuqs's home turf and moving into free territory. It can only get easier from here."

"He has a point," Kenta agreed. "The enemies in the Hub and Sovereign Levels were the strongest we went up against – the rest of it was mostly weak Champions and Rookies. The only real problem is gonna be getting across the Ocean."

"Yeah, I doubt our luck is good enough for us to run into Owlmon and his airship again," Cam chuckled. "We should ask Sage – he might be able to sort something out for us."

"Yeah, he probably knows somebody who could help us out," Kenta added.

"That I do," the hooded Digimon confirmed as he entered the room as behind Rika and Renamon. "There's a Whamon who owes me a favour. I'll have him meet you on the beach in the Jungle Level. If I remember correctly, there's another portal between the Ocean and Desert Levels not far from the Ocean-Jungle portal. It should bring you out about four hours away from the place where Ryo's group originally entered the Digital World."

"That's great, thanks," Ryo grinned. "That means it should only take us…hmmm…about four hours to get to the portal to the Swamp, then the rest of the day to get through there…"

"Yeah, it should be a lot easier without all those bugs chasing us," Jeri giggled.

"Call it another day to get through the Jungle, then just a few hours after that and we're home," Takato finished with an excited grin.

"We could be home by Sunday," Leomon nodded. "So much for needing to _delay _the Ark – we'll be there a day early!"

"That reminds me – I'd better contact Yamaki and sort out when he'll send the Ark," Ryo muttered and got to his feet, pulling a D-Comm out of his pocket and starting to type a quick message.

"Uh, where's Sam?" Rika asked suddenly, suppressing a spike of fear as she noticed that her sister was missing.

"Suzie decided she wanted to explore the valley a little," Takato chuckled from his seat on a massive leather sofa. "She ended up dragging Henry, Lopmon, Terriermon and Sam out with her."

"I should have guessed," the redhead muttered and rolled her eyes as she slumped down next to Takato, sinking into the sofa's soft embrace with a contented sigh. "So, only three days until we get home."

"I know," Cam grinned in reply. "It feels like it was so long ago that we first came here…but at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday."

"Speak for yourself," Steph giggled quietly. "I just feel like I've been stuck here forever. I can't wait to get home!"

"Ah, home," Kazu sighed. "I can't wait to be sleeping in a real bed again every night."

"Or actually eating breakfast every day," Kenta added.

"Being able to sleep without getting up to go on watch," Takato chuckled.

"Kicking Steph and Takato's arses on Armored Core," Cam laughed.

"Boys," Jeri muttered and rolled her eyes with a grin. "I miss my dad and little brother."

"I miss my mum and dad," Steph said softly. "They've got to be worried sick about me…"

"I'll make sure to tell them that you're okay," Ryo called as he typed away on the D-Comm.

"Thanks," the blonde-haired girl replied with a smile. "So, Rika, what do you miss most?"

"Hmmm…it's a tie between my mum and grandma and the famous Matsuki Bakery sausage rolls."

"Yeah, they really do taste awesome…" Cam sighed as his eyes took on a faraway look.

"What about you, Mr Perfect?" Rika asked after a few seconds of silence. "You're not getting out of saying anything. What do you miss?"

"Oh, I don't know," the boy shrugged absent-mindedly and continued typing away. "Nothing that isn't more than made up for by the pleasure of your company, Pumpkin."

"Thin ice, Akiyama," the redhead growled with a small blush as Jeri fought to contain her giggles. "I'll use that D-Comm to knock some sense into you if you're not careful."

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Gaomon quoted with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Argh, not Shakespeare!" Kazu groaned and mimed throwing up violently.

"Hey!" Steph snapped, a dangerous spark appearing in her eye. "Don't diss the Bard!"

"Uh, s-sorry?" the boy stammered.

"Well, so much for the old shy Steph," Leomon chuckled. "It looks like Bio-merging has done your confidence a world of good!"

"No, Shakespeare just happens to be her Berserk Button," Cam sighed. "She's the same way when she plays against me on video games."

"Or when she thinks you're keeping secrets," Takato added. "She nearly ripped my head off when she realized I blew her and Cam off to see Guilmon. 'Course, this was before she knew he existed…"

"I wasn't _that _bad…" the blonde-haired girl mumbled with a blush.

"Steph, if Guilmon hadn't distracted you, you'd probably have broken my neck!"

"What, and steal my fun?" Rika chuckled darkly. "She wouldn't dare after you went and told them I was a Tamer."

"Ouch…bad move, Takato…" Ryo winced and stood up as the D-Comm chimed. "I've got a reply from Yamaki. He says he'll be sending two Arks and he can have them ready to leave on Sunday, one heading for England and one heading for Japan. The England Ark will leave from the Desert Level where you guys landed, while the other one will leave where we landed."

"Great," Henry groaned as he limped in through the door, Sam and Steph chasing an exhausted Lopmon and Terriermon through the room seconds later with a chorus of laughter and excited screams. "What time do they arrive? And why can't we get them both from the same place?"

"He says it's something to do with the tunnels between worlds only connecting to one portal each – at least, I think that's what he meant. From what I understand, it's like the places where we all arrived in the Digital World each have a set of train tracks connecting them to one point on our world, which would be the portals we used to get here. We can only go to the places within about ten miles of where the train tracks connect up," the boy replied with his usual easy grin. "But yeah, the Ark to Japan arrives at one o'clock and the Ark to England arrives at five. By the way, Yamaki said that he's willing to use some of Hypnos's communications software to route some emails back to everybody's families, so if any of you guys want to send a message…"

* * *

As expected, most of the children leapt at the chance to have some contact with their respective families (with the exception of Cam and Ryo, who were decidedly indifferent about the whole affair). The three rescued girls were given the D-Comms first, Sam and Suzie dictating their messages to their respective older sibling before allowing them to type their own. Steph finished her email first and handed her D-Comm to Jeri before slumping down on the couch next to her partner.

"I wish I could see my dad's face when he reads that," the girl giggled lightly.

"Yeah, I can imagine he'll be a little surprised to learn about everything that's happened," Hawkmon chuckled, a flicker of worry crossing his features. "Um…how do you think your parents will…react to me?"

"I, uh…" Steph hesitated. "They'll definitely be surprised, but other than that…I don't know."

"I…I see," the bird mumbled, his face knitting into a mask of depression. "Maybe it would be better if I stayed in the Digital World then…"

"What?" his Tamer yelped in shock. "Why the hell would you think that?"

"Well, from what you've told me they probably won't approve of you being a Tamer, so they might try to stop us from seeing each other. And besides, I'll have nowhere to stay…"

"They won't overreact _that_ badly," the blonde-haired girl reassured him. "Look, my dad will be pretty shocked and my mum will freak out a bit, but they'll calm down. Plus we have a spare room that never gets used that I'm sure they'll let you use."

"I…are you sure?" Hawkmon asked with a glimmer of hope.

"If they say no, we can always turn back into Valdurmon and _make _them agree," Steph giggled.

"True," her partner agreed with a smile that quickly transformed into a thoughtful frown. "Hmmm…come to think of it, do you actually have any idea _how _to Bio-merge to Valdurmon again?"

"I was just kidding about that part, you know…but no, I don't," the girl replied with a worried look. "I mean, last time it was like somebody else was controlling what I was doing, like I was just watching it on TV or something until we actually merged."

"Same here. Maybe we should try it again later, see if we can still do it."

"Good idea. We'd probably be better going outside, though – I don't think Valdurmon would fit in this room."

* * *

When everybody had finished sending their messages, they gathered outside along with their partners and Sage to watch Steph and Hawkmon's attempt to Bio-merge again – and were thus witness to its utter failure. The duo were completely unable to do anything more than embarrass themselves, shouting "Bio-merge activate!" so many times that they began to go hoarse. They eventually gave up at nightfall, trudging back towards Sage's treehouse with defeated expressions.

"Don't worry about it," the hooded Digimon reassured them. "It may be the case that you are only able to Bio-merge in a battle situation, or under extreme stress. I am sure that you will be able to do it again when it becomes necessary."

* * *

Beneath Zhuqiaomon's Palace, Sovereign Level – 5:23p.m.

Majiramon struggled in vain against his restraints, dozens of thick, leather straps binding his serpentine form to a massive metal table. A many-armed, spider-like machine was suspended from the ceiling just above his head, a series of pipes connecting it two ten metre wide, thirty metre high cylindrical glass tanks at the back of the room. A swirling black mist filled the tanks, obscuring the other contents of the glass tubes save for occasional glimpses of a blurred silhouette floating in each. At the far end of the room was a trapeze-shaped doorway, through which emerged the fiery form of Zhuqiaomon.

"My lord, I beg of you, please-"

"SILENCE!" the mighty phoenix roared, glaring venomously at his servant. "You know what this room is. You know the fate of those who enter it."

Majiramon cast a glance towards the massive tanks of black mist. "P-please, holy one, I know I have failed, b-but surely I can red-d-deem myself somehow? I beg of you, have mercy! Don't put me in a tank!"

"Oh, don't worry – your fate will be _much _worse than that," Zhuqiaomon promised and stared at the massive cylinders. "Tell me, pathetic worm, do you know what that black mist is?"

"N-no, lord."

"That mist is the concentrated physical and emotional anguish of the two beings that reside in the tanks," the Sovereign began with a maniacal glint in his eye. "Before today I merely kept it around as another way of torturing those who have displeased me, but recent events have shown me another way – shown me the light, as it were. It's ironic, really. The Tamers were the ones who unwittingly unlocked the doors to my ultimate goal. With this I shall be INVINCIBLE!"

"Lord, I d-don't understand…" the dragon stammered, shaking in terror as his master leaned down and looked him straight in the eye.

In that gaze, all he could see was madness.

"Emotion has power in the Digital World," Zhuqiaomon cackled and flipped a switch with a flick of his left wing.

The spider-like contraption above Majiramon's head let out a series of clicks and whirrs as a loud rattling emanated from the pipes joining it to the twin tanks. The many-armed device began descending slowly towards the Deva below it and spread its metal limbs wide, blades and syringes emerging from the tip of each one. As the hideous array of surgical implements moved inexorably towards his face, a black mist became clearly visible around each scalpel, saw and needle, causing Majiramon to redouble his desperate efforts to escape.

Soon the dragon's screams were mingling with Zhuqiaomon's laughter as they echoed through the halls of the Sovereign's massive palace.


	37. Chapter 37

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

Well, this is the penultimate "real" chapter of Exodus. After this, there will only be one more full chapter (which is going on 10,000 words, and I'm _still_ not finished with it!) plus a short epilogue chapter. Chapter 38 should be out around next weekend, but if I can have it ready before then it will be released sooner.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Long Road Home**

The children left Sage's valley early on Friday morning, reaching the portal to the Swamp Level without incident. Before leaving, however, Steph and Hawkmon tried to Bio-merge one last time, then tried in vain to make the bird Digivolve using Digivolution cards when that failed. A slightly-deflated Steph and Hawkmon finally resigned themselves to swapping between mounts on their journey, choosing Gaogamon for their first day of travelling.

The Tamers' good luck (with the exception of Hawkmon's inability to Digivolve) held all the way through the Swamp Level, with no hostile Digimon attacking them as they travelled through the damp, vile-smelling realm. They passed through the portal to the Jungle Level about half an hour before nightfall, making camp on the far side at the top of a large hill that provided them with a breathtaking view of the seemingly-endless greenery, which was broken occasionally by another distant rocky hill. The area was soon shrouded in darkness, however, reducing the scenery to a series of vague blurs.

The mood among the Tamers was light, the chill air and unnerving surroundings doing little to overcome the excitement caused by their impending return home. Only Ryo stood apart from the others, his mood definitely positive but still much more reserved than that of his friends despite repeated demands from Kazu that he 'lighten up'. The older boy's natural paranoia and suspicion coupled with memories of Zhuqiaomon's surprise assault on them meant he was finding it all but impossible to relax, especially when everybody else seemed to be doing so. He still managed to join in as everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to Jeri, though only after Rika ordered him to do so on pain of death. As the night dragged on, the children started running out of steam and plodding off to bed, Sam and Suzie being the first at a little after nine o'clock, the latter practically dragging Lopmon with her. Jeri, Kenta and Steph left next, with the others following them one by one until only Ryo, Henry, Monodramon and Terriermon were left awake.

* * *

Friday 19th November – 10:04p.m.

Jungle Level

Terriermon stifled a yawn as he gazed out over the jungle below him. Ryo and Henry were deep in conversation about battle tactics and the quickest route to the beach where they would be meeting Whamon, the former somehow managing to keep watch despite the complexity of his conversation. Monodramon was perched on a nearby rock, also keeping watch while occasionally joining the conversation with his own observations. Terriermon, on the other hand, had been able to feel his concentration gradually waning over the last ten minutes or so. Another yawn managed to defeat all of his attempts to suppress it and the little Digimon finally decided to admit defeat.

"That's it, I'm done," the rabbit mumbled and got to his feet, turning and heading back to where the rest of the group was sleeping. "See you guys in the morning."

A chorus of mumbled goodnights followed the diminutive Digimon as he sauntered towards the small sheet of quilted cloth that served as his makeshift sleeping bag. He barely spared a glance at the slumbering forms he tiptoed past, managing to move so quietly that not even the ever-alert Renamon noticed his presence. The one person he gave any attention to was Suzie, who was snoring softly in the sleeping bag next to her brother's. Lopmon was clutched in the little girl's grip, which appeared once again to be too tight for the rabbit's comfort, as she was struggling to escape without waking her Tamer.

"Need a hand?" Terriermon whispered with a tired grin, receiving a frantic nod in reply. With all the delicacy and care of a qualified surgeon, he slowly lifted Suzie's left arm just enough for Lopmon to slip free, lowering it again and stepping back with equal slowness.

"Thank you," the former Deva gasped as quietly as she could. "You shall have to teach me how to do that."

"It's easy enough when you've had some practice," the green-and-white rabbit chuckled in reply. "Back before she knew I was alive, I was Suzie's favourite toy. It could be pretty fun trying to get away from her to handle a bio-emergence."

"I can imagine," Lopmon agreed as she sat down on a small rock next to her sleeping Tamer with a thoughtful look. "I assume that means I will have to endure this treatment even after we get back to the human world…"

"Yup," Terriermon sighed and slumped onto his sleeping bag. "Meh, at least now I've got someone to share the crown of Princess Pretty Pants with…"

"Princess Pretty Pants?"

"Oh, you'll find out when we get home."

"That sounded…ominous."

"It was meant to," the white-furred Digimon giggled. "Anyway, Suzie's not all bad. She's a good kid, even if she is a little on the loopy side."

"I shall bear that in mind."

"Smart move," Terriermon yawned. "Anyway, I'm off to bed. G'night."

"Goodnight," Lopmon replied as he climbed into his sleeping bag. After about a minute, when Terriermon was halfway asleep, she spoke up again.

"Um, Terriermon?"

"Yeah?" he mumbled groggily in reply, stifling a groan as he opened his eyes and sat up.

"There's something that's been…that I've been thinking about," the brown-furred Digimon began, glancing down at the floor nervously. "Why did you…why was everyone so accepting of me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…you all accepted me into your group without question. You don't seem bothered by the fact that I was a Deva, or about what I did in that time."

"What, you'd rather we put you on trial?" Terriermon teased her gently.

"N-no! I'm not complaining, but I just wond-"

"Hey, slow down, lady – I was just messing with ya!" the green-and-white rabbit giggled. "Look, I can't speak for everybody else, but personally, I think you made up for that stuff when you saved Suzie and Sam from Caturamon, and according to Little Miss Crazy, you were the only one who was nice to them when they were in prison."

"Yes, but I allowed them to remain-"

"If you'd have tried anything earlier, you'd have just got yourself killed, and maybe the girls along with you. And then after that you stood up to old Zhuqs and told him to go screw himself, so we know that you're on our side. Not much chance he'd take you back after that little speech…"

"True…"

"And anyway, there's no way you'd have been able to bond with Suzie and become her Tamer if you weren't a nice person!"

"Erm, isn't _she_ meant to be _my _Tamer?" Lopmon asked with a confused frown.

"I'm kinda hoping things'll go the other way around this time…"

* * *

The Tamers were up early, setting off almost as soon as they had woken to ensure that they would be able to reach their rendezvous point with Whamon by the next morning. Unfortunately, though quite understandably, Sam and Suzie were somewhat less than thrilled at having to spend another boring day riding on the backs of various different Digimon. After a quick discussion with their respective partners (and confirming it with Henry), Rika and Cam offered to let the girls ride with them, as their partners' Champion forms possessed the greatest mix of speed and stealth and would thus be acting as advance scouts. Suzie leapt at the chance for what Cam described as "a white knuckle ride", as did Sam after somebody had explained to her exactly what it meant.

* * *

Saturday 20th November – 8:52a.m.

Jungle Level

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Suzie cheered as Gaogamon tore through the jungle, leaping into the air every so often to jump from tree branch to tree branch. The girl was anchored to the blue-furred canine by his long, red scarf, which had formed itself into a pair of hands and had a firm grip on both Suzie and her rather nauseated partner. "You'll never catch us!"

"Don't be so sure," Kyubimon muttered in reply, meeting the girl's challenge with a sudden burst of speed that would probably have knocked Rika and Sam from her back had they not been bound to the kitsune's ornate red and white collar by Rika's belts.

As part of the deal to keep Sam and Suzie occupied, Kyubimon and Gaogamon would stop whenever they found a place they deemed safe to have a brief run around. In return, the girls would be reasonably quiet the rest of the time, and would follow the orders of the elder children and the Digimon. The deal was designed to allow Sam and Suzie to get some relatively safe fun and excitement out of the day, while still allowing the Digimon to scout ahead of the rest of the group properly. However, neither of the parties in the agreement had expected that the Digimon would get as much enjoyment out of the deal as the children.

"We're getting closer…" Sam squealed excitedly, letting out a surprised yelp as Kyubimon suddenly leapt into the air and followed Gaogamon through the tree branches. With a triumphant cry, the vulpine Digimon pounced at her opponent, twisting in mid-air so that she sailed over him mere inches above the heads of his passengers. As she landed, Kyubimon summoned a tiny aura of flame around one of her nine tails and swiftly swatted Gaogamon on his right hind leg, eliciting a yelp of pain from the massive canine as he skidded to a halt and fixed her with a small glare.

"You win, Kyubimon…this time," he growled playfully, eliciting a small chuckle from the victorious fox.

"I'm game for a rematch any time you are, little doggy."

"Is it over?" Lopmon whimpered and opened one of her eyes hesitantly.

"It's over," Cam replied with a small grin. "What's the matter? Travel sick?"

"I was not designed for high speed manoeuvres," the rabbit squeaked indignantly. "I tend to become slightly…uncomfortable when I move faster than a certain speed in this form."

"Remind me never to take you on a roller coaster…"

"Or in the car when daddy's dwiving," Suzie giggled. "Evewything wooks wike a big bwur when he dwives me to dance cwass."

"I think we'd better get back on the job," Rika suggested as she saw a familiar, depressed look flicker across her sister's face. _I know that look…talking about cars must have reminded her about her mum's accident… _she thought sadly, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder as Kyubimon started moving again at a slightly more sedate pace. "You okay?" the redhead asked quietly as soon as Cam and Gaogamon were out of earshot.

Sam nodded and mumbled a reply in the affirmative, though anyone with eyes could quite clearly tell that she was anything but okay. Making sure that she had her balance, Rika hesitantly untangled her left hand from her partner's fur and wrapped it around her sister in an awkward hug from behind. Sam responded by leaning back into the hug, tears running down her cheeks as she started to cry quietly.

"_Grief often strikes when we least expect it," _Kyubimon whispered sadly in her Tamer's mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, about a mile further back through the jungle, Jeri and Kenta were in the middle of a debate on a rather delicate topic.

"I just don't think we should tell anyone yet," Kenta said quietly, keeping his voice down so that their friends wouldn't hear them.

"But why not?" Jeri asked. "We're going to have to tell them sometime, and besides, half of them know anyway!"

"Uh, only two of them know – Rika and Ryo. And it's not their reaction I was worried about!"

"Well, how do you think Kazu and your friends back home will take it if they find out by accident?"

"Pipipuh…"

"Hey, you stay out of this!" Kenta moaned at his partner, who replied with a massive, cheesy grin and a single heart-shaped bubble.

"You know I'm right," Jeri giggled. "Look, it's gonna be even harder to hide this when we get back to Japan. I mean, my dad always asks me where I've been when I come home, and I'm a terrible liar! And then there's my friends – Miki and Ayaka especially are gonna be a problem – and then there's sorting out the stealth-dates in the first place…"

"Alright, I get it. You're right," the green-haired boy sighed. "We'll tell everyone before we leave the Digital World. Um…actually, it might be best to do it tonight, since we might not have time to do it tomorrow what with the time limit on getting to the Ark."

"Tonight it is," Jeri grinned triumphantly and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. "Thanks."

"Hey, Leomon, hurry up!" Kazu called, Monodramon struggling not to laugh at the boy's total cluelessness. "You're lagging way behind – what gives?"

"Ah, my apologies," the leonine warrior replied with a knowing grin. "I thought I saw something in the trees over there, but it was just a rock."

"You're sure?" Ryo asked, keeping up appearances.

"I'm sure. Don't worry, just my eyes playing tricks on me."

* * *

The Tamers stopped at about midday for a quick break, their scouting party quickly re-joining them to report their findings. Gaogamon and Kyubimon took advantage of the opportunity to de-Digivolve and get something to eat to heal the numerous, though minor bites and burns they had inflicted on each other in their games of 'tig' (which they still insisted were purely for the benefit of Sam and Suzie, refusing to admit they were enjoying themselves beyond acknowledging the game's usefulness as a 'training aid'). Fortunately, thanks to their unique digital physiology, all they required was half an hour's rest after their restorative meal before they were ready to go again, Digivolving back to their Champion forms and launching back into the thick jungle as soon as their passengers were strapped in.

The scouting party found no traces of danger after the first hour, though they did come across a clearing studded with large, flat-topped rocks that made an ideal playground for the two Champions. Their luck changed, however, soon after they left the clearing.

* * *

2:31p.m.

Gaogamon let out a low growl as he surveyed the rocky clearing in front of him. A canyon, just too wide for him to jump across, ran through the middle of the clearing, a rickety rope bridge providing the only crossing. It was a clearing he recognized from the journey in the opposite direction (though it wasn't the one where Rika and Kazu had had their now near-legendary fight – they had passed through that clearing without incident not long before their lunch break). The bridge in this clearing, on the other hand, was guarded by a trio of Ogremon.

"They could be Zhuqiaomon's agents," Cam whispered as he peered at the massive, green-skinned Digimon. "He's sent Ogremon against us before."

"They are not members of the Sovereign's army," Lopmon replied with a frown. "Zhuqiaomon's forces have identifying tattoos on their right arms – these Ogremon are lacking that mark."

"That doesn't mean they're friendly," Rika noted.

"True," Gaogamon agreed. "Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to get around them easily."

"Then we shall have to go through them," Kyubimon declared.

"Hold on, we don't even know if they're hostile or not," Cam began with a frown. "I mean, if they aren't in Zhuqiaomon's army, they might not want any trouble."

"Ogremon are not known for their friendly disposition," his partner countered.

"He is correct. The Ogremon had a reputation for brutality long before they became favoured soldiers of the Sovereign. In fact, that is likely why he hired them," Lopmon added.

"Either way, Flyboy's right," Rika sighed. "We can't afford to get into an unnecessary fight – it'll just slow us down, and if one of you guys gets hurt it'll slow us down even more. We should try talking to them first."

* * *

The small group of humans and Digimon walked slowly into the clearing, Cam and Rika walking beside their partners while Suzie and Sam hid behind the older children's legs. Lopmon, meanwhile, was being held tightly in her Tamer's arms, and was barely getting enough oxygen to stay conscious. One of the Ogremon spotted them almost instantly and turned to converse with his two companions, before turning and calling out to the approaching group.

"OI! Who goes there?"

Kyubimon and the children stopped moving, Gaogamon taking a few more steps before coming to a halt and calling out in reply. "We're travellers, just passing through. We just want to cross the bridge and be on our way, as will another group of humans who are following close behind us."

"Well, then we got a problem. You see, this 'ere's a toll bridge," the Ogremon began in what he obviously thought was a businessman's voice. "And you gotta pay the toll, or we won't let you cross."

"I am afraid that we don't have any money with us at the moment," Gaogamon replied, fighting back his growing sense of revulsion. _Filthy bandits… _"We don't have any way of paying you."

"Now, that's where you're wrong," the green-skinned monster grinned hideously. "You've got four juicy humans with you…"

"_What?_" Gaogamon snarled as the ogre carried on obliviously.

"…and me and my boys are _ever _so hungry. I'm sure you could spare just one of 'em as payment – that'd leave three for yourself and your friends there. Now, let's see…" the Ogremon trailed off, scrutinizing the humans as closely as he could from a distance. Eventually, he made his decision. "I want her! The little one holding the Lopmon!"

As the massive Digimon pointed at her, Suzie let out a squeak of fear and darted behind Gaogamon, holding Lopmon tight to her chest. With a sudden, impressive display of contortionism, the rabbit wriggled free of her Tamer's grasp and advanced slowly towards the three ogres.

"Cam, Rika, would you do me a favour, please?" she began, her eyes and voice as hard and cold as steel. "Cover the little ones' eyes, and look away yourselves. You're too young to see what I'm about to do to these…_vermin_."

As Lopmon spat the last word with almost-unnatural venom, a bright white light shone from Suzie's D-Arc and the little Digimon was encased in a pink data sphere. The sphere quickly grew to a little over six metres in height and suddenly shattered to reveal the slender, graceful, terrifying form of Antylamon. Rika and Cam quickly obeyed the former Deva's request and covered the eyes of their young charges, then looked away themselves.

Two short screams of terror were quickly followed by a pair of wet squelches, two heavy thuds echoing through the clearing as two of the Ogremon fell dead to the floor. The third ogre began babbling incoherently, suddenly letting out a long scream that quickly faded away into the distance as he was, presumably, thrown off the edge of the cliff.

"Well…" Gaogamon began, not knowing quite what to say as Antylamon de-Digivolved in a flash of white light. "That was…"

"Impressive," Kyubimon finished with a note of respect.

"I, um, thank you," Lopmon mumbled with a hint of embarrassment. "I'm not entirely sure how I did that, but thank you."

"Um, Lopmon?" Sam piped up nervously from behind the kitsune. "Can we look now?"

* * *

The Tamers were reunited just after sunset at the beach where they had entered the Jungle Level on their first trip through. They quickly set up a camp with a small fire on the cliffs above the beach and gathered around, chattering away excitedly about their imminent return home. After about half an hour, when the conversation had died down a bit, Jeri and Kenta shared a nervous glance and stood up shakily, the girl clearing her throat and speaking up in a quavering voice.

* * *

Jungle Level, near portal to Ocean Level – 6:50p.m.

"Um, everyone? We have an an-n-nnouncement to make," the brunette stammered, glancing at her boyfriend desperately when she had everyone's attention. "K-Kenta?"

"Well, uh…you see…" the green-haired boy began. "Me and Jeri are…we're d-d…we're go…we're-"

"They're dating!" Monodramon interrupted in an exasperated tone, earning a mock glare from his Tamer. "Oh, come on, it was taking them forever!"

"Monodramon…" Ryo sighed and shook his head slowly, fighting to suppress a grin.

A stunned silence descended on the group as everyone processed the new (for most of them, anyway) information. Rika, Renamon, Ryo and Monodramon wore knowing smirks as the two lovebirds shifted uncomfortably under the rest of the group's gaze. Henry, Steph, Cam, Takato, Terriermon and Hawkmon looked mildly surprised (mostly at the fact that the two Tamers had actually acted on their painfully-obvious feelings), while Gaomon rolled his eyes and muttered "about bloody time" under his breath. Guilmon, Andromon and Lopmon, on the other hand, simply looked confused, while Sam and Suzie wrinkled their noses in distaste and exclaimed "ewww, boys!" in perfect unison. Kazu's reaction, however, was absolutely perfect. The visor-wearing Tamer wore an expression of utter shock, his mouth working open and closed like that of a goldfish.

"I…I…I…" he began, shaking his head suddenly and looking closely at the couple. "Is this a joke?"

"Nope!" Jeri giggled cheerfully and pulled her boyfriend into a sudden kiss, making his face flush bright red. The sudden display of affection caused Kazu's jaw to drop further and inspired a chorus of laughter and cheers from most of the children and Digimon as the brown-haired Tamer spluttered in shock. The two younger children mimed throwing up, while Rika looked away uncomfortably.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that again," Leomon chuckled with a shake of his head. "I think that poor Kazu might have an aneurysm if he gets hit by any more surprises today…"

The sound of his name being spoken brought Kazu back to reality and he snapped his jaw shut, struggling to regain the use of his voice for long enough to interrogate his oldest friend. "I…you…when? How?"

"When we first arrived in the Jungle Level and me and Jeri went off to scout around," Kenta began. "We were walking through the Jungle when a coconut fell off of a tree."

"It would have landed on my head if Kenta hadn't pushed me out of the way," Jeri added. "But, well, he pushed a little harder than he meant to and we both ended up rolling down a hill. We were a little stunned, and when Kenta asked me if I was okay and I said yes he…um…kissed me."

"Too much information…" Kazu groaned as Steph emitted a sound that could only be described as "squee".

* * *

Kazu spent most of the rest of the evening in shock, not being helped by the fact that Jeri and Kenta were now cuddling or holding hands openly at every opportunity. Most of the children and Digimon simply took this in their stride, though Sam and Suzie engaged in some gentle teasing and Rika made a conscious effort not to look at the couple. Eventually, things returned to some semblance of normality and conversation started picking up again.

* * *

7:58p.m.

"I wonder how everyone's doing back home," Sam said absent-mindedly as she gazed out at the ocean, marvelling at the sheer size of the glassy black expanse. "I mean, I hope they haven't had to fight any mean Digimon while you guys have been gone."

"I don't think so," her sister replied. "Yamaki would have found out about it from Mr Wong and told us if that had happened."

"Wow, that's lucky," the little girl began, turning around and lying down on her stomach with her chin resting on her hands. "I mean, it would have been pretty scary if one of the bad guys had arrived when you and the others weren't around."

"Yeah…" Henry mumbled as a thoughtful look came over his face. "You know, that _is _pretty lucky."

"Actually, it's not really luck," Lopmon piped up as she opened her eyes and stood up from the spot beside her Tamer where she had been dozing. "When Zhuqiaomon found out that all the Tamers had entered the Digital World, he stopped sending Digimon to your world. He had a greater chance of eliminating you all while you were in his territory, and he wanted to make sure he had as much backup available as possible if Project NOSFERATU failed."

"Wait, you're saying that _all _the Digimon who've bio-emerged so far have been sent by Zhuqiaomon?" Takato asked with a worried frown.

"Not all of them, no," the little Digimon replied. "Some Digimon manage to make it through on their own without the Sovereign's aid, but there are not many of them. I think there was a Devimon that managed it, plus a Sangloupmon and an IceDevimon. There are a few others, but those are the ones I remember most vividly."

"Yeah, I remember those three," Rika muttered, suppressing a shiver as she remembered her experiences with IceDevimon. "Wait, if Zhuqiaomon has been sending practically every other Digimon we've fought, why doesn't he just send one of his armies through all at once? I mean, Gogglehead and the others barely managed to take down a hundred ForgeTankmon, and that was after a bunch of them got killed by friendly fire."

"Fortunately, he is unable to send more than one or two Digimon through the barrier at a time using his current method," the rabbit began. "Without knowing the location of the portals to the human worlds, Zhuqiaomon has been forced to use a machine that he recovered from the ruins of an ancient temple in the Great Desert. When a portal between the worlds is formed, a number of minor breaches in the barrier plane are formed around it. The machine basically takes either one or two Digimon and fires them in the general direction of one of these breaches. This destabilizes the barrier plane for about a day, preventing another attempt at bio-emergence from being made until it has calmed down again. About a third of the time, the Digimon will hit one of the breaches and be transported through to your world."

"What happens the rest of the time?"

"They either miss or are torn to pieces by the trauma of entering the barrier plane. Sometimes there are periods of time when the barrier plane becomes calmer or more turbulent, and the success rate can rise to 98% or fall to 10%. Also, at the calmest times, multiple Digimon can be transported in rapid succession, like what happened when Indramon and Pajiramon were sued as a distraction while Makuramon and Majiramon kidnapped Sam, Steph and Suzie."

"From what you say, it sounds like it's completely random whether the Digimon ends up in England or Japan," Renamon mused.

"For most Digimon it is, yes," Lopmon replied. "Apparently Devas are capable of guiding themselves…or ourselves to a specific world, though it takes a significant amount of effort. Most other Digimon are too weak to guide themselves properly, though apparently most Ultimates or a strong Champion like IceDevimon can do it."

"And finding a portal would allow him to choose where all of his crazy little minions ended up?" Terriermon piped up.

"Yes. It would also allow him to send dozens, or even hundreds of Digimon through at a time as often as he liked," the former Deva sighed gravely. "It would also allow him to overcome the limitation of his machine that frustrates him the most – the fact that it catastrophically overloads every time any Digimon more powerful than a Deva attempts to use it. This is the only thing that has prevented him from travelling to Earth himself and obliterating it."

"Oh, no," Jeri whispered in horror. "If he finds one of the portals…"

"He will not," Lopmon reassured her. "Finding the portal would require him to track us back to it and JewelBeemon was the only one of his servants capable of doing that for any length of time without being noticed by us. However, I doubt that even he would have been able to get close enough to track us without being detected by Guilmon's nose."

"So we're safe?" Kenta asked.

"Yes, I believe so. All that Zhuqiaomon knows is that the portals are in the Great Desert, and he has no way of detecting them unless they are active. Do not worry."

* * *

10:22p.m.

As usual, the Tamers and Digimon trickled off to bed one by one as the evening dragged on. Eventually, the only ones left awake were Rika, Renamon and Ryo. The trio mostly sat there in silence, the only communication being conducted telepathically by the redhead and her vulpine partner, who were meant to be the ones on watch. Much to Rika's irritation, Ryo had yet to go to bed, and he was behaving as if he was the one on watch. The girl quickly tired of the older Tamer's presence, and decided to confront him about it with her usual subtlety and social grace.

"Alright, Akiyama, what the hell are you still doing up?" she demanded, fixing him with a glare that would have shattered the resolve of a lesser man.

"I thought I'd keep you company," Ryo replied with his trademark grin. "It can get awful lonely on watch – I thought you might appreciate the extra conversation."

"Bullshit," Rika snapped, her temper flaring hotter as she recognized the obvious lie. "Don't lie to me, _Mr Perfect_. You're not as good at it as you think."

A brief flicker of unreadable emotion crossed the boy's face, and Rika knew she'd hit a nerve. "Why shouldn't I stay up? Might as well have an extra pair of eyes on watch…"

"So that's it," the girl snarled, a hurt expression materializing briefly on her face before being quickly disguised. "You don't trust me."

"What?" Ryo exclaimed in what seemed like genuine surprise. _Okay, so maybe you're a better actor than I thought, Akiyama… _"That's not it at all!"

"Yeah, right. Why else would you be sitting out here trying to babysit me, _again_?" the redhead sneered, memories of the older Tamer's repeated attempts to coddle her over the last two weeks springing into her mind. "Stop treating me like some Damsel in Distress, Ryo. It's insulting."

"Rika, that honestly isn't why I'm out here," the teenager insisted.

"Oh yeah? So why _are _you out here?"

"I…gah, I can't believe I'm about to admit this…" Ryo sighed, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Look, it's not that I don't trust _you_…it's that I don't trust myself." Noticing his fellow Tamer's bewildered expression, he decided to elaborate. "Ever since we got ambushed by Zhuqiaomon, I've been feeling…okay, I'm just gonna say it. I screwed up. I let my guard down after we managed to rescue Sam and Suzie, and if I hadn't, then Zhuqiaomon might not have been able to sneak up on us."

Ryo was about to continue when he saw the incredulous look on Rika's face. "You…you have _got _to be kidding me," she muttered and shook her head in disbelief. "You arrogant…melodramatic…self-obsessed asshole! What the hell is _wrong_ with you?"

"Uh…"

"You think that we got attacked just because _you _let your guard down? Get over yourself!" the redhead laughed mirthlessly. "We _all _let our guard down, we all got overconfident. We should have had an escape plan prepared for something like that, or even just kept moving through the night and sleeping in shifts until we got out of the Sovereign Level. Come to think of it, we still don't even know how Zhuqiaomon found us."

"Look, I know, but it was my responsibility to-" the older Tamer began.

"Since when was anything _your _responsibility?" Rika interrupted. "It was your responsibility to guide us to the Sovereign Level, nothing else. You're not our Glorious Leader or anything, despite what the Dimwit Duo think, so stop acting like it. It was _all _of our responsibility and we _all _screwed up."

"I-" Ryo began angrily, hesitating suddenly as another unidentifiable emotion flickered across his face and he let out a long sigh, his trademark grin reappearing almost immediately. "Damn it, you're right. I really am an asshole aren't I?" he chuckled and shook his head.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Well, if it means I get to hear the beautiful, heavenly music that is your voice, _Princess_…" he crooned, deliberately using the pet name he knew Rika hated the most.

"Would you stop calling me that?" the redhead snapped and looked away, folding her arms as she stared into the night. "It makes you sound like a dirty old man out on the prowl. And it creeps me out!"

"So, you prefer my other names for you?"

"No, I just hate that one slightly more. Now for the kami's sake, _go to bed_!"

"As you command," Ryo replied with a small bow and turned to wander off to bed before glancing back over his shoulder with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Say, Rika…how would you react if I said I just made all that stuff up and actually just wanted you all to myself for a little while?"

"Go!" the girl growled, glaring at the slowly-retreating boy's back for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the jungle surrounding her. _Huh, I guess he __**is **__a better actor than I gave him credit for…I almost believed him about that last part…_

* * *

The Tamers rose not long after daybreak and made their way down to the beach to await the arrival of Whamon. The massive, blue-skinned Digimon arrived just before 7am and, after some convincing, the group of children and Digimon filed into his mouth so that he could transport them through the underwater gateway to the ocean level. As soon as he had passed through the portal, Whamon resurfaced and allowed his passengers to move onto the top of his head, much to the relief of Renamon. The whale continued swimming for almost two hours, heading towards what the Tamers had originally assumed was a cloud on the horizon. As they drew closer, however, it quickly became clear that the cloud was in fact a medium-sized, rocky island.

Whamon reached the island just before nine o'clock, unloading his passengers and giving them directions to the cave containing the portal to the Desert Level. After the usual round of thanks and farewells, the whale plunged back into the depths of the ocean – though not before giving the water an incredibly hard slap with his tail and soaking his former charges with the resulting spray.

The Tamers found the portal exactly where Whamon had said it would be –right at the back of a small cave, the entrance to which was located on the beach just past a rock that looked like a giant bowl of rice. With exactly four hours to go until the Ark to Japan arrived, they passed through the appropriately sandy-coloured portal to the Desert Level, and embarked on the last leg of their long journey home.

* * *

Sunday 21st November – 12:00p.m.

Beneath Zhuqiaomon's Palace, Sovereign Level

At midday on Sunday 21st November, almost three full days since his torment began, Majiramon finally stopped screaming. Zhuqiaomon's vile machines had completed their work, and the creature that was left in his victim's place was almost totally unrecognizable as having once been Majiramon. The mad Sovereign closely inspected his prize, noting the puffs of black mist that appeared every time it exhaled with a sense of smug satisfaction. He suppressed a twinge of regret at the fact that he had not been able to observe the full process, instead being forced to join several battles against the forces of Examon and Dynasmon, who had decided to try to take advantage of the recent destruction of his prison-fortress by launching their own separate invasions of the Sovereign Level. The two Royal Knights had been easily repulsed after their armies came into contact with one another and were pulled into a pitched battle, leaving them easy prey for Zhuqiaomon's numerically-superior forces.

"What are you?" the phoenix asked, bringing himself out of his reverie as he glared at the monstrosity lying in front of him.

"I…am nothing…" it croaked in reply.

"Why do you live?"

"I live to serve…Master…"

A booming laugh erupted from Zhuqiaomon's beak as he released his newly-remade servant from its bonds, the laughter growing ever louder as it bowed before him. "Excellent. EXCELLENT!" he cackled, a wave of flame washing out from the Sovereign's form in response to his amusement. "I do believe I have outdone myself this time…now, rise!"

The serpentine Digimon rose out of its bow and pulled itself into an upright position, gazing up at its master with eyes filled with nothing but awe and love. "What are your orders, Master?"

"There are tracking devices planted inside each of my Devas, yourself included. Unfortunately, the range on these devices is limited, and the signal is not powerful enough to reach my domain after they have entered the Desert Level. You will travel to the Great Desert and use Antylamon's tracking signal to follow the humans back to the portal they used to gain entry to this world," the Sovereign declared, his voice cracking under the weight of his insanity. "Once you have located the portal, you will slay the Abominations and their human masters, enter the human world and destroy everything you find within a ten-mile radius! You will then establish a beachhead for my armies and report back to me."

"Understood, Master," the monster growled as a shroud of black mist gathered around it. When the mist had completely obscured the shape of the beast, it suddenly leapt into motion, rocketing out of the door and along the narrow corridors to the surface of the Sovereign Level.

_Magnificent! _Zhuqiaomon thought as he watched his latest creation leave. _Such power, such grace – and best of all, it appears that the indoctrination program was a complete success! In just a few short years, I will have harvested enough of the black mist to create a legion of such perfect warriors. The Abominations will surely fall before my latest creation, and with an army of them I will be unstoppable! EARTH WILL BURN!_


	38. Chapter 38

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

And here it is at last: the final fully-sized chapter of Exodus. And boy, is it a big one (about 14,000 words according to Microsoft Word). I'd like to thank everyone who read Exodus, with special thanks going to my reviewers. I truly appreciate every one of your comments - both compliments and criticisms.

While this is the end of Exodus, it is by no means the end of the Taming the Third Lion series. As soon as I'm done with the epilogue for Exodus I'll be starting on Book 2, which I'm still trying to come up with a title for. I'll be writing the first 20 or so chapters before starting to release them, but progress updates will be posted semi-regularly on my profile page, so you may want to keep an eye on that if you're interested.

Anyway, that's enough from me. Please enjoy the grand finale of Exodus, and thank you again for reading.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Dragon**

Sunday 21st November – 9:02a.m.

Digital World, Desert Level

"Ah, smell that clean desert air!" Kazu sighed and took a deep breath, looking up at the sky and grinning like an idiot.

"Smells like dust and sunburn to me…" Kenta muttered as he emptied what seemed like a whole dune's worth of sand out of his shoe.

"Well, it smells like victory to me!"

"Don't go celebrating yet," Ryo warned him. "Or have you forgotten what happened last time we did that? I'm sure Zhuqiaomon will be happy to pop up again if you keep this up…"

"For once, I gotta agree with Mr Perfect," Rika admitted grudgingly. "Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing."

"I know what you mean," Henry agreed. "I would have expected at least _some _trouble from Zhuqiaomon's forces on the way here, but it almost feels like he…let us go or something."

"That does not seem likely," Leomon began thoughtfully. "It is possible that the Sovereign is merely licking his wounds after the destruction of his prison fortress. The loss of so many of his soldiers must have hurt his military capabilities."

"It will have done, though not as much as you might think," Lopmon sighed. "The Genesis Guard alone have almost a thousand members and their numbers are always increasing. The destruction of the fortress did create a breach in his defensive line, however, and I would not be surprised if the Dramon Kingdom or Order of the Wyvern attempted to take advantage of the situation by launching their own offensives…though knowing Examon and Dynasmon, they would probably just end up fighting each other, giving Zhuqiaomon ample opportunity to outmanoeuvre and eliminate them."

"Why don't they just team up?" Takato asked with a puzzled frown. "I mean, Sage said that neither of them have the strength to stand up to Zhuqiaomon on their own, so why not join forces and take him out?"

"They're both too proud for that," Hawkmon scoffed. "Examon sees everyone as his subordinate, and Dynasmon isn't diplomatic enough to take much crap from anyone – especially from someone he thinks of as a rival for power. The one time those two actually tried teaming up Dynasmon challenged Examon to a duel in the middle of Fort Wyvern's great hall over the table manners of one of the Dragon Emperor's lieutenants."

"You're kidding, right?" Steph asked with an amused grin.

"They only finished rebuilding the place last year," her partner chuckled. "I don't know how Dynasmon expected MetalSeadramon to use a fork anyway – the guy doesn't even have hands!"

"Hey, not meaning to be rude or anything," Terriermon began in an irritated voice. "But would you guys GET A FREAKING MOVE ON ALREADY? We've got a schedule to keep to, ya know!"

"Terriermon's right," Takato nodded and drew a Digivolution card, Rika and Cam doing the same. "We should get going. You ready, boy?"

"Always, Takatomon," the red saurian replied.

"Then what're we waiting for? **Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth – 7:14p.m. local time (11:14a.m. GMT)

"Dolphin, report," Yamaki ordered in his usual sharp, clipped tone.

"Everything's going on schedule," Rob 'Dolphin' McCoy replied with a small grin as he continued typing away on a sleek black keyboard. The man was in his early sixties, though he looked closer to forty-five. His auburn hair was neatly-trimmed, and a pair of browline glasses sat on his rounded nose.

"Something funny?"

"Yes, actually," the Monster Maker replied. "You using my nickname when you're talking in your super-serious 'Captain Picard' voice."

"Well, it's nice to know that I've been demoted to the post of office clown," Yamaki remarked drily, a small grin finding its way onto his face. "Just make sure that both of the Arks are ready on time. We don't want the children to be stranded waiting for them to arrive."

"Sir!" Riley called from her seat atop the large, crane-like arm at the centre of the Hypnos dome. "We've managed to get a lock on the Tamers' signals. They're moving through the Desert Level as we speak."

"Can we send a tracer to keep an eye on them?"

"I think I can find a way of anchoring it to the signal from one of their D-Arcs," the redhead's co-worker, Tally replied. "It should follow the person I attach it to until they leave the Digital World, giving us a real-time view of what's happening around them."

"Do it. Report anything out of the ordinary immediately."

"Mr Yamaki?" a rather breathless-sounding secretary called as she stepped into the massive, spherical chamber. "I have a video call for you from Tao."

"Put him through to my computer," the blonde-haired man commanded and stepped over to his personal computer console, giving a brief nod of greeting when Janyuu Wong's face appeared onscreen. "Janyuu."

"Yamaki," the Chinese man nodded in reply. "I've managed to temporarily widen and stabilize the England portal. It will be suitable for use by the Ark for the next twenty-four hours. All that's left is stabilizing the data of the Ark you had emailed to me, but I should easily be able to have that done on time with a little help from your end."

"Excellent. By the way, we've managed to get a tracer program into the Digital World and we now have a live feed of the children. If you want, I can have it transmitted to your computer as well. The transmitting will be done via the portal itself, so you can route it to a laptop and let your wife take it with her when she goes to meet the children at the portal."

"That would be wonderful, thank you. I'm sure Maria will appreciate it."

* * *

Digital World, Sovereign Level – 12:02p.m.

The thing that was once Majiramon rocketed out of the ruins of Zhuqiaomon's palace, tearing through the muddy red sky at incredible speed. Makuramon watched in wonder from the shattered remains of the palace's tallest spire, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of the form hidden inside the cloud of black mist. His efforts were in vain however, as his master's latest monstrosity quickly receded into the distance.

_Such power! _the monkey Deva thought as a wave of envy washed over him. _Why does a fool like Majiramon get to wield such power? __**I'm **__the leader of the Devas! __**I**__ should be the one trusted with such responsibilities by the Sovereign!_

…_no matter. When the Abominations are destroyed, I will find out how that miserable excuse for a dragon gained his power and then I shall seize the source of his power for myself! None will stand before me, not even that fool of a Sovereign Zhuqiaomon._

* * *

Desert Level – 12:55p.m.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Kenta asked Ryo nervously as he held on to Leomon's mane for dear life, his girlfriend's partner travelling significantly faster than he usually did when encumbered with passengers.

"I'm sure," the older boy replied with an easy grin from atop Andromon's shoulder. "I recognize that cluster of spires right over there. We're almost there."

"Hey, I recognize that one too!" Monodramon exclaimed as he peered at a particularly tall, flat-topped spire. "I nearly hit that one on the way in…"

"Yeah, quit worrying Kenta!" Kazu laughed as his partner leapfrogged a boulder, landing and continuing to run without breaking stride. "If anyone can get us home, it's the Digimon King!"

"Sure, he can't read a compass, but navigation between dimensions? No problem!" Rika muttered sarcastically and rolled her eyes, eliciting a small giggle from Sam.

"Be nice," Jeri warned her with mock seriousness as she gripped Kenta's hand tightly.

"It's best not to offend the tour guide in the middle of the safari," Leomon chuckled and shook his head slowly as he ran. "He might end up sending you to the lion's den."

"The lions would not stand a chance against me if he tried that," Kyubimon smirked, sparks of blue flame dancing around her tail.

"Pipipuhpapapipuh?" MarineAngemon chattered with an ear-to-ear grin as he poked his head out of his Tamer's top pocket.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the animal conservation guys would be made into rugs too if they tried that…" Kenta laughed as his partner ducked back into his pocket.

"I can see a crater up ahead!" Hawkmon called from his rather precarious perch atop Gaogamon's head.

"Sounds like we're here," Ryo declared, glancing back at Kenta over his shoulder with a playful grin. "And you doubted me…"

* * *

Minutes later, the children were stood at the edge of the massive crater that had resulted from the landing of the four Japanese Tamers and their Digimon partners. The harsh desert winds had begun to fill in the hole, but they still had a long way to go yet. The sides of the crater had, however, collapsed inwards slightly on one side, creating a much shallower, easier-to-navigate slope into the middle of the crater.

"You guys sure did make a pretty big bang when you landed…" Cam chuckled.

"Hey, that reminds me," Terriermon began with a thoughtful look. "How come you guys didn't just slash Hyper Wing cards on the way in or something? I mean, you've done this before so you must have known what was coming."

"Meh, why waste the card?" Kazu shrugged with a grin. "And besides, it's fun being able to skydive without needing a parachute."

"Each to his own," Gaogamon muttered and glanced up at the sky, nodding in the direction of a bright white light that had appeared between the group and the strange earth dominating the sky. "Looks like the Ark's here."

The children and Digimon craned their necks in unison and watched with varying levels of awe as the glowing white portal widened and a pair of thin metal rails descended from it slowly until they struck the ground at the centre of the crater with a dull clang. A cube-shaped box four metres to a side and made entirely of glass emerged from the portal next, travelling down the rails at a snail's pace like a giant glass elevator. It eventually landed with a small puff of dust and a barely-audible thud, the side of the cube facing the Tamers sliding open with a musical chime.

"Three minutes to Ark departure," a computerized, feminine voice announced from inside the glass box.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Kazu said with a tired grin. "Nice meeting you all, take care of yourselves."

"Thanks for everything, you guys," Henry nodded to the Japanese Tamers and Digimon.

"Yeah," Steph added with a small smile. "Without your help…"

"It was nothing, fair maiden," Andromon replied with a bow, making the girl blush lightly.

"Oh, great, he's in 'knight in shining armour' mode again," the android's Tamer sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Bye, everybody!" Jeri called cheerfully, turning to Rika with a wide smile. "Try to keep in touch a little better this time?"

"I will," the redhead promised, catching the amber-eyed girl's arms and giving a small smirk as she suddenly tried to pull her into a surprise hug. "Nice try, Jeri. That only works once."

"Oh, really?" a voice chuckled in her ear as Rika felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind, pulling her into a tight hug and lifting her several inches into the air. "I beg to differ, Wildcat…"

"Put. Me. DOWN!" the girl ordered as she felt her face turning beet-red with embarrassment.

"Your wish is my command," the Digimon King crooned and set her down gently, stepping nimbly aside to avoid the inevitable gut-punch thrown at him by the irate redhead. "Nice try, but that one really _does _only work once."

"Oh, I am going to make you _scream_…"

"Well, it doesn't look like we'll have the time," Ryo sighed with (mostly) mock disappointment, his grin suddenly transforming into a sad smile. "Take care of yourself, Rika."

The sudden change of attitude threw the girl off-balance just long enough for the boy to make his escape to the Ark, skidding down the side of the crater at what was definitely an unsafe speed and barely managing to come to a stop right outside the glass box. "Later everyone. Good luck with the rest of your journey home!"

"Humans," Leomon muttered with a small smile and rolled his eyes, offering his hand to Kyubimon. "Until we meet again, great kitsune."

"May your claws remain sharp," the vulpine Digimon replied and placed one of her forepaws in his hand. "And your blade strike true, Beast King."

Leomon released the kitsune's paw and leapt into the crater, joining his Tamer and the rest of his friends in the Ark. The doors slid shut mere seconds after he had stepped through the doors and the glass box started rising slowly into the air.

"Goodbye!" Suzie shouted and waved furiously at her departing friends. "We'ww miss you!"

"Bye!" Sam called, joining her friend in waving as the Tamers and their partners in the glass box started waving back. "Thanks very much for helping to free us and stuff!"

The children and Digimon stayed there until the Ark disappeared through the portal, with Takato, Cam, Terriermon and Growlmon joining their young friends in waving and shouting goodbyes at the glass elevator. When the Ark had finally passed out of sight, Takato lowered his tired arm and glanced at the screen of his D-Arc, wincing when he saw the time.

"Ah, crap…uh, guys? It's ten past one…" he began in a worried tone.

"Looks like we're gonna be a little pushed for time getting to our Ark," Cam muttered with a thoughtful look. "Hey, Takato? How about Digivolving Growlmon to WarGrowlmon? That should speed him up nicely, and he should be able to maintain his form until we get there."

"Yeah!" Growlmon nodded in agreement.

"If it'll help, I could Digivolve to Rapidmon, too," Terriermon offered. "That should let you guys move a bit faster since you won't be carrying me or Henry, and I'll be able to keep an eye out for any trouble from up in the air."

"I could do the same as MachGaogamon," Gaogamon added.

"I should probably Digivolve as well," Kyubimon declared. "My Taijitu disk is the safest way to transport Sam and the others at the speeds we'll be travelling at. I should probably warn you, I may have difficulty sustaining it for the entire journey if I have to carry so many people."

"A couple of 'em could join me and WarGrowlmon if you get too tired," Takato nodded. "So, I'll be on WarGrowlmon, Henry will be on Rapidmon, Cam will be on MachGaogamon and Rika and everyone else will be with Taomon."

"Hmmm…I wonder…" Steph mumbled and reached for the deck of spare cards Rika had let her borrow in case of an emergency. "**Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!**"

"**Hawkmon Digivolve to…Aquilamon!**" her red- and white-feathered partner called out as he was encased in a red and white data sphere that quickly shattered to reveal his appropriately-aquiline Champion form.

Aquilamon was much smaller than Valdurmon, with a wingspan of around six metres. His body and long tail were covered with red feathers, as were his wings, except for around the edges where they were white with red at the tips. His neck was adorned with a ruffle of brown feathers, while those on his head his head were predominantly white, with streaks of red forming patterns that looked like warpaint on his forehead and around his eyes. A single long, red-tipped white feather rose from the top of his head and two dark grey horns curled forward from just above and behind his icy-blue eyes, matched in their sharpness by his short, yellow beak and taloned, blue-grey feet. The massive bird shook his head rapidly and blinked in surprise, looking around at his surroundings cautiously as he tried to get used to his new perspective.

"That was…ahem…" he coughed quietly, surprised by his new, deeper voice. "That was…surprising."

"Huh…I didn't think that would work," Steph grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Just give me more warning next time," Aquilamon sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Ooh…I could get used to this…"

"Not if you still wanna be able to fit into the spare room…"

"Uh, I got a couple of questions," Terriermon began in a puzzled tone. "First off, why didn't that work when you tried it back at Sage's place? And what made you decide to try it now?"

"I dunno," the blonde-haired girl shrugged. "I mean, I knew that Taomon would be pretty tired out if she had to carry everyone all the way, so I decided to slash a Digivolution card."

"But how did you know it would work?" Growlmon asked with a confused look.

"I didn't. It just seemed…right."

"Well, that makes sense…" Gaogamon muttered sarcastically. "I should probably be used to this stuff by now."

"Probably," Aquilamon agreed. "Weird things always seem to happen around humans."

"As much as I hate to borrow a line from Rabbitmon," Rika began in an irritated tone, drawing a card that flashed blue as she closed her eyes and concentrated. "Would you hurry up? We've got a schedule to keep!"

"We really need to stop doing that," Takato chuckled as he, Henry and Cam drew their own blue cards. "**Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!**"

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth – 10:16p.m. local time

"We have Ark 1 on our short-range scanners!" Riley announced excitedly. "It's on target for emergence on the roof. Estimate twenty seconds to bio-emergence. Eighteen. Seventeen."

"Excellent work, people," Yamaki congratulated his team as the redhead continued her countdown. "Tally, inform the children's parents."

"Already done, sir," the blonde-haired woman replied with a grin.

"Good. Dolphin, Shibumi – get on the network and start helping Tao with the data stabilization. I want Ark 2 ready for launch ASAP."

"We're on it. Come on, Shibumi," Dolphin replied, heading back to the Monster Makers' personal office accompanied by a cheerful Japanese man with a mop of sandy-blonde hair and a rough, unkempt beard. "You know how Tao gets when he's kept waiting."

* * *

Roof of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building – 10:17p.m. local time

A point of bright white light flared into existence over the southern tower of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, less than ten metres above the heads of the half-dozen concerned parents gathered there along with about twice that number of Hypnos Agents. Twin metal rails emerged from the portal and were soon followed by the Ark, which touched down on the roof of the building with a soft thud and disintegrated into a cloud of free-floating data.

"Dad!" Jeri cheered and leapt into the arms of her father – a stern, severe-looking man with close-cropped dark hair whose harsh exterior evaporated immediately into a joyous, relieved smile as his daughter leapt into his arms. Kazu and Kenta showed greater restraint than their friend, though their mothers decided to emulate Jeri's excited reaction, each woman immediately grasping her respective son in a fierce hug and planting kisses all over their forehead. Ryo, meanwhile, simply shared a reserved, respectful nod with his father, who gave a brief smile and a glance at Monodramon.

"He de-Digivolved again?" Gendo Akiyama asked in a neutral tone.

"Yeah, we were in a pretty big fight a while back and he still hasn't totally recovered," the boy replied, suppressing a spark of irritation at his father's habitual tendency to speak about his partner as if he weren't there. "Uh, dad…the Tamers from England still haven't got back from the Digital World yet. Do you mind if we hang around here for a little while? I wanna make sure they get home okay."

"I don't see why not," his father shrugged. "You've already missed enough school that one bad night's sleep won't do you any harm."

"Uh, dad? Please can we stay too?" Jeri asked, putting on her best puppy dog eyes.

"I thought you might want to stay," Tadashi Katou chuckled. "I'll call your stepmother and tell her we'll be home late."

"Uh, mum? Dad?" Kazu asked hopefully after finally escaping from his mother's death grip.

"Not a chance, mister!" his mother, Takako, snapped. "Your grades can't afford to sink any lower than they already are."

"Same goes for you, Kenta," the green-haired boy's mother Akemi said sternly. "Two weeks of missed school is more than enough."

Jeri giggled quietly as the two boys were practically dragged back inside by their parents, Leomon suppressing a chuckle and shaking his head in wonder at the sudden transformation of the Tamers.

"Five minutes ago those boys would have faced down a legion of Ogremon," the leonine warrior smirked as Andromon and MarineAngemon followed their respective Tamer back inside, Andromon struggling to squeeze through the door. "Now they're scared of a couple of humans who'd barely reach an Ogremon's chest."

"Parental Authority," Monodramon chuckled. "The ultimate special attack."

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level – 2:30p.m.

Taomon took a deep breath and wiped a paw across her forehead to try and remove some of the sweat that was gathering in her fur there. _When we get home, I am going to find out exactly which sadistic moron decided to give me sweat glands under my fur and these ridiculous, thick robes, _she thought as she flicked her paw to try and rid it of what little sweat she had managed to wipe off. _ And then I am going to smother him in my sleeves._

The group of children and Digimon were limited to travelling through the desert at the fastest sustainable speed the slowest of their group could manage. The two slowest Digimon were WarGrowlmon, who was moving at a light jog, and Taomon, whose Taijitu disk was heavily-laden with passengers. Normally she still would have been able to move faster than she was now, though only for a brief period of time. The desert heat certainly wasn't helping.

_Why couldn't Suzie have been partnered with a Frigimon or IceLeomon instead? _the kitsune moaned to herself. The knowledge that she was currently one of the slowest-moving members of the group was annoying her more than she expected, despite the fact that WarGrowlmon would have been slowing everybody down even if she had been able to move faster. _I thought I was stronger than this…brought low by the weather. Ha!_

The heat wasn't exactly doing wonders for her mood, either.

"Suzie, I really don't think this is a good idea…" Lopmon began as her Tamer rifled through the dozen or so cards she had 'borrowed' from her brother. "I don't think that you should have taken those cards withou-"

"**Digi-Modify! Fwigimon's Icy Bweath activate!**" the little girl interrupted as she slashed a card through her pink-ringed D-Arc. "Okay, Wopmon, time to coow Taomon down!"

"Ah…ah…AATCHOO!" the brown-furred rabbit sneezed loudly, a flurry of snow and ice being carried from her nostrils by a cold, biting wind. "Oh dear…erm, my sincere apologies, Taomon…"

"Oh, it's not a problem," the kitsune, who was now so covered with snow she looked like an oversized snowman, replied and shook her head to clear her vision of the cold, white powder. "Tell me, how many of those cards do you have?"

* * *

Suzie was the first to spot the landing site of the Ark at 4:30pm, when her keen eyes managed to pick out a series of craters in the distance just as they passed into view from behind a cluster of rock towers. She and Sam had been keeping themselves occupied by playing an on-again, off-again game to see who would be able to spot the craters first, and the half-Chinese girl celebrated her victory with her usual childish lack of grace. The Digimon reached the craters twenty minutes later, the children dismounting with a palpable sense of relief at having reached their rendezvous point on time. As soon as their passengers' feet hit the sandy ground, all of the Digimon apart from Aquilamon de-Digivolved to their Rookie forms, their energy reserves by travelling for so long in their Ultimate forms. The children's relief quickly turned to excitement as they saw a circle of bright white light flare into existence above their heads, a pair of metal rails poking out from the portal and slowly descending towards them.

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth – 2:49a.m. local time

"Barrier/Desert Portal forming in five…four…three…two…one…portal open!" Riley announced.

"Excellent," Yamaki said crisply. "Transfer control of the Ark to Tao as planned. He should have a reduced communication time between his systems and the Ark's."

"Aye, sir," the redhead replied with a small grin. Everyone in the room (with the exception of Ryo, Jeri, their partners and each child's respective father) knew exactly why Yamaki was transferring control – he had been over it with them all at that morning's briefing. Repeating it was just his way of reassuring himself that relinquishing control – something he was loath to do in the best of circumstances – was the right thing to do. "Control transferred. Your controls should be starting to respond any second now, Mr Wong."

"Roger that," the Chinese man replied over the video link that dominated a small portion of the Hypnos dome. "Rail touchdown in five…four…three…"

"Sir!" Tally called out suddenly. "I'm getting some pretty strange readings over here…"

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level – 4:50p.m.

Rika allowed a small smile to appear on her face as the Ark's twin rails struck the ground and a blurred outline began to become visible in the centre of the white portal. _Come on… _she thought impatiently._ Can this thing move any slower?_

The redhead nearly jumped out of her skin as a low growl suddenly rose over the whistling of the desert wind and she turned to see Guilmon sniffing the air suspiciously, his pupils reduced to feral slits.

"What's up with…" she began, trailing off as she felt a sudden sense of alarm flood her link with her partner. "What the hell's going-"

The girl was cut off as something large and heavy slammed into her back and the world shattered around her.

* * *

Kirkfield Park, England – 4:50p.m.

Maria Wong almost let out a loud cheer of pure joy when she saw the Ark's twin rails touch the ground, the image surprisingly clear on the screen of the laptop her husband had given to her. She and the other parents of the Tamers were gathered in the tunnel holding the portal to the Digital World, eagerly awaiting the return of their children. The only ones not present were her husband Janyuu, who would be guiding the Ark in from his computer at home, and Cam's father (though the boy's mother – a short, lean, nervous-looking woman with curly black hair – was present). Also accompanying Maria were Jaarin and Rinchei, who had momentarily set aside their usual sibling bickering in favour of silent, nervous anticipation of their siblings' return.

The portal itself was much wider than it had been on the day the children had left for the Digital World, thanks to Janyuu's efforts to widen and stabilize it enough for the Ark to pass through without any problems. The ragged tear in reality had been converted into a neat, circular window six metres in diameter, and noticeably fewer motes of light dancing around it were dancing around it.

"Not long, now," Takehiro Matsuki whispered to his wife and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, to which she responded with a small smile and a squeeze of her own. "Soon we'll have our boy back, and-"

All those assembled let out simultaneous cries of horror as a black blur suddenly darted across the screen and struck the ground just in front of the children and Digimon, sending a wave of darkness washing out in every direction. When the darkness reached the tracer program transmitting the images, the laptop's screen suddenly flared white and started belching sparks and smoke, the rest of the computer bursting into flames seconds later.

"Oh, no…" Maria croaked, tears streaming down her cheeks as the implications of what she had seen sunk in. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth

Yamaki uttered a stream of curses as the darkness reached the tracer and every single screen in the Hypnos dome disintegrated into a haze of static. "What the hell is going on?"

"Unknown, sir," Tally replied quickly as she typed away at her keyboard frantically. "I can't access any of the systems, it looks like they've all been infiltrated by an un-"

The blonde-haired woman was cut off as her console exploded in a cloud of black energy, tearing her torso to ribbons and catapulting her mangled corpse through the air. The force of the blast ripped the crane-like armature she had been sat on almost completely in half, sending Riley tumbling a dozen feet from her console to the floor below.

"RILEY!" Yamaki roared in horror as the woman landed hard, her left leg breaking with an audible snap. He quickly called for a doctor and rushed to her side, glancing over towards Tally's corpse with a twinge of guilt at having all but ignored her demise in favour of attending to her wounded co-worker.

What he saw froze him in his tracks. The blonde-haired woman's corpse had landed on top of Monodramon and the purple dragon's back was arched as black mist billowed from his snout and mouth. The little Digimon started to glow with an intense white light that suddenly flared to painfully-bright levels, fading to reveal the massive form of Cyberdramon.

The black-armoured dragon looked Yamaki straight in the eye, opened his mouth and let out a bestial roar as he pounced at the man with claws outstretched.

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level

Rika fell to her knees as Renamon re-materialized and the world came into focus again. That had been the most violent, uncontrolled Kohenkyo teleportation she had ever seen Renamon use – it had been enough to seriously disorientate both the girl and her partner, despite them both being well-accustomed to the experience of teleportation. A strange coughing sound came from the redhead's left, and she turned to see Sam retching violently on her hands and knees about a metre away.

"Wh…what happened?" Rika stammered as she stood up, her nausea slowly receding. "Renamon, why did…oh, gods…"

The Tamer trailed off as she turned back to look at her partner and saw what lay behind her. A strange cloud of black mist that covered a dome-shaped area over thirty metres high and wide was slowly dissipating, revealing a scene of total devastation. Aquilamon had been blasted back to his Rookie form of Hawkmon and he lay atop the motionless form of his Tamer. Guilmon, Gaomon, Lopmon and Terriermon were laid on the floor groaning in agony, their data fizzing periodically. Henry and Suzie looked like they had managed to get away from the mysterious attack with only minor cuts and bruises, though both of them looked severely shell-shocked. Suzie let out a scream of horror when she saw her wounded partner and ran to her side, while her brother seemed torn between tending to his own partner and checking to see if Steph was still alive. Eventually, he chose the latter option, an expression of indescribable relief appearing on his face when he pressed two fingers against the girl's neck and found a pulse. Cam and Takato were better off than Steph, though not by much in Takato's case. The begoggled Tamer's right arm was obviously dislocated at the shoulder, and blood welled out from a nasty cut on his chest. Cam, on the other hand, had managed to escape with just a long gash on his upper arm that sent blood dripping down all the way to his wrist as he struggled to reassure Takato, who was letting out periodic screams of agony as his arm was jarred by even the slightest movement. A sudden flicker drew Rika's eyes to the Ark, which was being held in place by a web of darkness that covered the mouth to the portal and had wrapped itself around the rails.

"Who…who could have done this?" she croaked in horror, flinching as a booming laugh echoed through the desert.

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth

Mere milliseconds before Cyberdramon's claws eviscerated Yamaki, Leomon barrelled into the dragon from the side with a massive roar, slamming him into a row of computers on the far wall and crushing many of them into unrecognizable piles of scrap metal and plastic. The leonine warrior let out a low growl and climbed to his feet, drawing his Shishiou-maru sword and holding it underhanded in a guard position. Cyberdramon quickly tore himself free of the wreckage and glared at his attacker, flexing his claws and emitting a low growl of his own.

"I suggest you all evacuate this place," Leomon began, circling around to place himself between the dragon and the defenceless humans. "I shall keep him busy while you make your escape."

Almost before he had finished talking, the lion leapt into action, summoning a fireball around his empty left fist as he swung his sword at Cyberdramon's head. The dragon blocked the blade with his left claws, barely even flinching as Leomon exploited the gap in his defence by launching a Fist of the Beast King attack into his armoured chest at point blank range. Cyberdramon replied by headbutting his opponent square in the face and slashing at his chest with his right claws, cutting a series of parallel, stinging cuts in the lion's flesh.

Most of the humans in the spherical room had started retreating as soon as Leomon launched his attack, though several of them remained behind. Yamaki was the last to leave, taking a good, long look at the ruins of his life's work before rushing out of the door with a delirious Riley in his arms. Jeri had barely moved a muscle since the fight had begun, immersing herself in her link with Leomon so totally that she became all but oblivious to the world around her. The only time she did move was to slash a card every so often, her usual shouted announcement of the card she was slashing escaping her lips as barely more than a murmur. Her father also remained, and although he didn't understand what his daughter was doing, he understood instinctively that he shouldn't interfere. Ryo, meanwhile, was all but frozen with shock, his father's attempts to rouse him from his stupor and convince him to run having no effect. The boy watched helplessly as his partner landed blow after blow on Leomon, Jeri yelping or screaming with every cut as she felt the pain inflicted on her partner. Eventually, the agony became too much for her and she fell to her knees with a gasp, pulling free of the link and clenching her fists around her D-Arc in a white-knuckled grip.

"Jeri, are you-"

"I'm fine, dad," she lied, fixing Ryo with a desperate look. "Ryo, you have to do something! Slash an Alias card – we can deal with him if he's back as Monodramon!"

"I can't, it doesn't work when he's like this!" the boy replied, clenching his fists by his side as he continued to ignore his father's pleas for him to leave.

"Why not?" Jeri demanded.

"I…I don't know! It just doesn't!"

The girl narrowed her eyes and fixed Ryo with a glare that managed to communicate more than words ever could. "You're lying," it said. "I know you're lying. I know you have your secrets. I don't care about that. If you do something, your secrets can stay secret. But if you don't do something, Leomon is going to die. If you let that happen, I will make it my life's work to find out _exactly _what that secret is, and why it was important enough to let my partner die."

That glare terrified Ryo more than anything else in his entire life.

As Cyberdramon knocked Leomon to the ground with a ferocious backhand and stood over him poised to deliver the killing blow, Ryo did the only thing he could think of doing. He threw himself between the two battling Digimon.

"**ENOUGH!**" the boy roared at the top of his lungs as he threw himself into the link he shared with Cyberdramon.

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level

"What…what _is _that?" Renamon gasped as she finally found her voice.

The creature was enormous, at least twenty-five metres long and shrouded along its entire length with black mist. Eight long, barbed tails snaked away from a serpentine body, each one tipped with a feather-shaped blade of black iron. Eight long necks branched off from the top of its body, the back of each one covered along its entire length by segmented, angular armour plates of subtly-different styles. Each neck was tipped with a unique head, the only common features shared by all of them being their grey-black skin, mouths full of razor-sharp teeth and glowing red eyes.

One of the heads was identical to the head of a rattlesnake complete with oversized fangs, while another looked like the head of a traditional Japanese dragon, with long whiskers and sharp spines growing from its head. Another head had a long, thin snout with straight grey horns growing back from its forehead, while yet another had a flatter snout with flared nostrils and curling black ram's horns that grew from just behind its eyes. The fifth head had a short, rounded snout and a spined crest extending from its chin back to its throat, while the sixth had a short, square jaw and bone-coloured horns that pointed forwards in a manner reminiscent of Aquilamon's. The seventh head was shaped like an elongated tetrahedron, with a split lower jaw that reached out well past the end of its snout. The last head was one that looked very familiar to Rika – it was almost exactly like the head of Majiramon, the only difference being in the skin colour. Without really thinking about it, Rika pulled her D-Arc out of its holder on her belt and scanned the eight-headed dragon, glancing at her screen and swallowing a fresh surge of fear.

_Name: HiOrochimon  
Level: Mega  
Attribute: Virus_

_Special Attacks:  
Unknown_

"HiOrochimon?" the redhead mumbled and glanced up at the unfamiliar Digimon, who was wearing a malicious grin on each of his eight heads. "But how…"

"His Divine Majesty Zhuqiaomon, may his life be filled with victory and profit, has powers beyond your wildest dreams," the dragon cackled, all eight of his voices speaking as one. "I was once the weakling known as Majiramon, but the Sovereign blessed me with strength born of agony, with power born of rage and despair. In his infinite wisdom, he transformed me from a weakling and a failure into his greatest weapon!" HiOrochimon swept one of his bladed tails around, indicating the devastation he had wrought. "See how the mighty Tamers and their Abominations are laid low, crippled and defeated by just a single blow! But don't worry, child, I am not a cruel Digimon," he sneered, leaning down so that his Majiramon head was only about a dozen metres from Rika. "I will end their suffering soon. I'll even let you watch, so that you can make sure my killings are swift and merciful before I end your life as well."

As the dragon descended into roaring laughter at his little joke, Rika turned and surveyed the scene that lay in front of her with a sense of numbness. A spark of some familiar yet alien emotion flared into life deep within her chest as she set eyes upon the first of her friends, the spark growing and growing as her gaze fell upon each friend in turn.

There were Steph and Hawkmon, both unconscious and unmoving.

_There's Steph, who always looks out for everyone and would never hurt a fly._

_There's Hawkmon, who gave everything he had to help us._

There was Henry, holding Terriermon in his arms. The rabbit stirred briefly and mouthed a word that Rika guessed was "Momentai" from the brief smile and tears of relief that streamed down his Tamer's face.

_There's Henry, who always keeps a level head and never stops worrying about his friends._

_There's Terriermon, who makes me laugh inside more than I'd ever let him know._

There was Cam, struggling to comfort an agonised Takato even as his own arm was soaked through with blood.

_There's Cam, who never gives up on a friend._

_There's Takato, the only person in the world who could put up with the Ice Queen for long enough to thaw her out a little._

There was Gaomon, climbing unsteadily to his feet before tying his headband tightly around Cam's wound to staunch the bleeding, falling to his knees and passing out as soon as he had finished the task.

_There's Gaomon, who fights for everyone but himself._

There was Guilmon, trying desperately to climb to his feet and go to his Tamer's aid, eventually settling for just crawling towards the boy when his legs continually failed him.

_There's Guilmon, just a big kid with a heart of gold._

There was Suzie, holding Lopmon tightly in her arms and sobbing profusely. The rabbit was comforting her as best she could despite her injured state, struggling not to pass out so as not to scare her young Tamer.

_There's Suzie, the only girl who'd make friends with the sad, lonely new kid in her class._

_There's Lopmon, who was strong enough to stand up to a Sovereign but is too soft to stand up to her Tamer._

And there was Sam, staring up at the massive dragon with tears of terror streaming down her cheeks.

_And there's Sam, who's been through enough already._

_They've saved my life a dozen times in a dozen different ways. Without them, my life would be as cold as it was before I met Renamon, before Jeri and Leomon opened our eyes._

_**I will not let him hurt them.**_

"I'm gonna give you one chance," Rika began softly, turning and fixing HiOrochimon with the most fiery, rage-filled glare she could muster. "To walk away from this. You will give up your power. You will leave Zhuqiaomon's army. You will dedicate your life to undoing the damage you have caused. You will never hurt another living thing."

"Oh?" the dragon chuckled. "And what if I refuse?"

"Then I'll destroy you," the redhead said matter-of-factly. "I'll go through every last shred of your data and delete it one byte at a time until every trace of your existence is gone from this world."

"Hmmm…" HiOrochimon sighed, a thoughtful look appearing on each of his eight heads. "I think I'm going to have to decline your offer."

"Then you brought this on yourself," Rika and Renamon spat as a sudden wind picked up around the girl and violet light blazed out of the screen of her D-Arc.

* * *

_Oh, crap. This is bad. This is very, very bad. _Cam thought as he stared at Takato's arm, mumbling hollow words of comfort as much for his own sake as for his friend's. _What do I do? Somebody tell me what to do! I've got no idea how to help him, I hate feeling so USELESS!_

_Okay, okay. Calm down, Cam. It could be worse, _he took a deep breath and glanced at the unconscious forms of Steph and Hawkmon. _At least you're still around to panic. If Aquilamon hadn't taken the brunt of that attack for us…oh, come on! Snap out of it! _the boy berated himself mentally. _Never give up, no matter what. As long as you're still breathing, there's always a chance._

As the thought rattled around in the massive Tamer's brain two familiar voices called out two wonderful, glorious words that rekindled the fires of hope in his chest. A sense of pure joy washed over him and he had to fight to stop himself from whooping and cheering as he turned to watch Rika and Renamon's transformation.

"**Bio-merge activate!**"

A brilliant, golden-white light shone from Rika's eyes as she rose slowly into the air, her arms moving out to either side of her in a cruciform shape. The light soon spread across her whole body like a shroud , concealing it as her clothes dissolved right down to her hairband, allowing her hair to spill down around her shoulders. When the girl had risen several metres above the ground, Renamon leapt into the air behind her, mirroring her pose with her arms out at her sides and her feet together. The two partners moved together, their bodies overlapping and merging into one in a flash of pink light that faded to reveal the form of a woman, eight feet tall and shrouded in golden light. Suddenly, a number of motes of pale pink light winked into existence to her left, quickly growing and solidifying until each one had formed itself into a cherry blossom. The blossoms washed over her body, coiling around the limbs, torso and finally the head before turning back into floating pink lights and merging into the golden light enshrouding her form, changing its colour to be the same pale pink as the individual lights had been. When the last trace of golden light had turned pink, the shroud of light flared brighter and suddenly dimmed to reveal Rika and Renamon's Mega form of Sakuyamon in all her glory.

She was magnificent. Her body was encased in a black, skin-tight bodysuit, with golden armour plates strapped over her chest and solar plexus. Two oval-shaped plates of metal hung from the back of the armour, dangling down to her mid-thigh and looking like the wings of a sycamore seed. A pair of purple elbow-length gloves similar to Renamon's adorned her hands, each glove emblazoned with a taijitu symbol that sat on the back of her hand. Similar items of clothing were worn over a pair of high-heeled boots that were made of the same golden metal as her armour. The taijitu motif was repeated on the tops of Sakuyamon's feet, as well as on the armour on her solar plexus, on the flexible golden rings protecting her knees and on her spherical golden shoulder pads. A black leather belt with a golden fox's head buckle adorned her waist, four cylindrical canisters resting on the belt. Her eyes were hidden behind a golden metal helmet reminiscent of Renamon's head, with two ears on the top and a small, white-tipped tail-like protrusion on either side of the helmet. One detail that was definitely not similar to her Rookie form, however, was the two lengths of segmented metal that framed her face like Rika's forelocks. Sakuyamon's own hair, however, was definitely unlike that of her human half – it was silver in colour, and pulled into two white-tipped ponytails that each look like the tail of a grey fox. A massive golden khakkhara staff rested in her left hand, the bottom ending in a vicious spike that wouldn't have looked out of place on a spear. The top of the staff consisted of a single, large gold ring with six smaller rings attached to it and with another spike mounted on top of the main ring, two medium-sized rings hanging from loops in the metal to either side of the spike. The shamaness spun the staff over her head several times before planting it into the ground, sending a small wave of lightning arcing across the surface of the desert.

"Dude…" Cam breathed as he stared in awe at Sakuyamon. "Go, Rika…"

The boy flinched as a throaty chuckle rumbled from all eight of Orochimon's throats at once. "So, you Digivolved? This should make things interesting…"

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth

As Ryo's mind connected with that of his partner, two sensations flooded his consciousness. The first was pure, unadulterated rage so powerful it threatened to eclipse every last shred of his sanity. The second was pain. Pain that wracked every inch of his body, flooded every corner of his mind as his partner fought to free himself from the link. Pain so intense that Ryo vowed to do everything in his power to forget it, as he doubted that his mind could survive the memory of the sensations he was feeling now, the indescribable agony of the deep wounds being gouged in the very core of his being.

For a second, Ryo thought his mental assault had been in vain as his partner's claws continued on their path, arcing downwards to cleave through both his flesh and Leomon's. When the claws were mere inches from the boy's head, however, they stopped as if they had struck a brick wall. A mirthless grin spread across Ryo's face as Cyberdramon roared in indignant rage, the roar echoing through their bond and shaking the Tamer's consciousness like an oversized plate of jelly.

_You can't do it, can you? _Ryo chuckled to himself. _You can't break my hold over your mind. You should know better than to try and fight me in battle of wills, you old bastard. You've never beaten me before, and you won't beat me now. Granted, our battles have never been as…literal as this one, but that changes nothing. I won't let you hurt anyone._

Cyberdramon suddenly ceased his roaring, standing stock still as he diverted all of his energy into a renewed mental assault on his Tamer. The boy stood his ground, taking a single step forward as he weathered the shockwaves of agony tearing through his mind and body. He responded by pushing himself further into the link before the pain had faded, sending aftershocks rippling through the dragon's mind. Cyberdramon withdrew slightly with both a verbal and a mental groan, instinctively erecting barriers to keep his Tamer at bay before launching into a counter-attack. The move caught Ryo off-balance, and he retreated back into his own mind before launching into a second counter-attack of his own.

This cycle repeated itself again and again, each pseudo-telepathic parry and riposte taking less than half a second. Despite his earlier boast, Ryo began to feel his mental defences weakening almost-imperceptibly, while his partner's mind remained as strong and secure as it ever was.

_I'd better think of something fast, _the boy thought to himself after a particularly-vicious assault on his mind, lashing out with an equally-cruel blow at his partner's psyche. _I don't know how much longer I can hold him off._

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level

_This is…incredible! _Rika gasped as she looked around at the blue data sphere encasing her. She was somehow managing to see through Sakuyamon's eyes at the same time as her own, the image appearing overlaid on the surface of the data sphere and on the far side of it simultaneously. The sensation was slightly disorientating at first, but the girl grew accustomed to it after just a few seconds.

She doubted, however, that she would ever be able to get used to the sudden surge of intense emotion that had flooded her body as soon as her transformation was complete, and had now appeared to have taken up permanent residence in her consciousness. It was the familiar-yet-alien emotion she had felt shortly before her transformation, but intensified a million times over. The only word in Rika's vocabulary that came close to describing the feeling was "compassion", though the word failed so completely to describe the intensity of the feeling that it was rendered almost totally inadequate.

_It's too much… _the redhead groaned mentally as the wave of emotion flooded every corner of her mind and soul. _I can't…I can't take much more of this…_

"_No, but __**we **__can," _Renamon's voice whispered soothingly in her mind, and Rika felt the intense emotional pressure diminish to about half of its original intensity.

"_Renamon…" _the girl sighed in gratitude as she wrestled the emotion into an isolated corner of her mind. _"This is so…I can…I can __**feel **__everything! It's like I'm linked to every single living thing for a thousand miles, like I can feel their hearts beating in my head, feel their life flowing through my mind."_

"_I feel it, too," _the kitsune replied. _"Though perhaps we should discuss it at a later date…"_

"**Kyoubou no Kage!**" all eight of HiOrochimon's heads roared in unison, interrupting Sakuyamon's internal dialogue. A bolt of black fire erupted from the dragon's Majiramon head, slamming into the ground where the shamaness had been standing a fraction of a second before.

_Whoa, _Rika gasped in surprise at her newfound speed and agility. Her mind could barely comprehend the speed with which her body was moving, the surrounding desert dissolving into a blur as she twisted in mid-air to avoid a second shadowy dart. As she dodged a third bolt with equal ease, the girl noticed a strange sensation tugging at her limbs with every movement. It was almost as if she was being guided by Renamon into every motion, while at the same time it felt like she was the one guiding the kitsune. The feeling was barely noticeable unless she concentrated on it – something that the Tamer decided not to do as she struggled to dodge a fourth and fifth bolt, then found three more fireballs bearing down on her from multiple directions.

"**Crystal Sphere!**" Sakuyamon shouted in the twin voices of Rika and Renamon, neither voice holding even a trace of fear as a transparent, spherical shield appeared around her. The shadowy projectiles smashed into the glass-like barrier, black flames washing over its surface before dissipating without breaching it. A split-second later, the sphere also disappeared, leaving Sakuyamon levitating a dozen metres above the ground.

"My turn," she spat contemptuously and threw her arms out to her sides, dozens of motes of violet light materializing all around her. "**Amethyst Wind!**" the gold-armoured Digimon called out as each point of light flared brighter and resolved itself into a nine inch-long, two-inch wide amethyst with a razor sharp tip.

The storm of crystals, which by now numbered close to a hundred individual shards, rocketed through the air towards HiOrochimon with a high-pitched keening, the amethysts weaving between each other in a mesmerizingly-complex display of aerobatics. They slammed into the toughened hide and metal armour along several of the dragon's necks before detonating in a symphony of explosions, rending armour and gouging flesh but failing to do more than superficial damage. The crystalline barrage was still painful for HiOrochimon, feeling akin to dozens of needles being driven into his flesh. A roar of pain and rage left the serpentine Digimon's eight throats as he lunged at his opponent with surprising speed for such a large creature. Those heads that could reach the Bio-merged Digimon snapped at her viciously, each set of jaws slamming closed on thin air as Sakuyamon danced around them with ease, hovering behind the dragon as she prepared another attack.

"**Ame no Murakumo!**" HiOrochimon roared and lashed out with his eight tails, the blade-feather at the end of each one glowing with a deep, bluish-purple light. Sakuyamon cut off her attack when she realized her mistake, launching into a series of rolls and mid-air "jumps" in a desperate attempt to dodge the surprise attack. She almost succeeded, managing to dodge seven of the tails only for the eighth to slam into her chest armour with a deafening thunderclap, sending her plummeting towards the ground. The shamaness managed to regain enough control over her fall to land on her feet, leaping back into the air after a half-second pause with the pointed butt of her staff held out in front of her like a lance aimed at her opponent's heart. One of HiOrochimon's tails came up to knock her aside and Sakuyamon shifted her grip on the staff so that it was pointing down towards the top of the bladed appendage, the razor-sharp tip biting deep into the flesh just behind the feather-blade as she used the golden implement like a pole to vault over it, catapulting herself feet-first towards the dragon's square-jawed head. Her booted feet struck the massive, bestial visage just below its left eye with a sound like two mountains colliding, dislocating its massive jaw and eliciting an agonized roar from the wounded head as it whiplashed to the side and the shamaness soared past. This risky move put her within easy reach of the rest of HiOrochimon's heads, however, and four of them closed in on Sakuyamon with jaws wide open and ready to tear her limb from limb.

"**Spirit Strike!**" she bellowed, the four canisters on her belt flipping open and unleashing the fox-like spirits stored within.

Each of the four kuda-gitsune was made up of different-coloured flames and had a different kanji emblazoned on their forehead – one was red with the kanji for fire, one was blue with the kanji for water, one was green with the kanji for wind and one was yellow with the kanji for lightning. Despite their aesthetic differences, they all struck their targets with equal force and accuracy, each fox-spirit targeting one of the heads attacking their mistress and knocking it aside with the force of a speeding Humvee. Thanks to the opening created by her familiars, Sakuyamon flew right past the rest of the heads, pivoting in mid-air and coming to a halt ten metres above the ground and just out of HiOrochimon's reach.

"You actually managed to injure me," the dragon growled incredulously, the words leaving the mouth of his wounded head in an unintelligible slur. "You will die slowly for that, Abomination. Any last requests before I end your miserable life?"

"You're awfully confident," the shamaness noted as her kuda-gitsune formed up around her. "But now that you mention it…tell me, how did you find us?"

"Oh, wouldn't _you_ like to know…" HiOrochimon chuckled.

"Since we're apparently going to be dead soon, what harm could it do to tell us?" Sakuyamon asked with a smirk. "Unless you're scared that you won't be able to defeat us after all…"

"Don't try to manipulate me," the mutated Deva snarled. "How dare you, an Abomination and a pathetic little girl, insult my intelligence?"

"Awww, did we hurt the big, nasty dragon's feelings?" the Bio-merged Digimon mocked.

"ENOUGH!" he roared furiously, the eyes on all eight of his hideous heads suddenly starting to glow brighter as the black mist around their mouths thickened. "I think I'll keep you alive and give you to my lord as a gift. I will enjoy watching the torments he inflicts upon you as we burn your world."

"_I think you may have pushed him a little too far," _Renamon noted as her Bio-merged form dodged nimbly around six streams of black fire, deflecting two more with a well-timed Crystal Sphere.

"_He just needs to grow a thicker skin…" _Rika muttered telepathically in reply.

"_Perhaps not – we're having enough trouble killing him as it is…"_

"**Amethyst Wind!**" Sakuyamon cried as her internal dialogue ended, sending a storm of dagger-like crystals whistling towards her opponent's heads in an attempt to distract while her kuda-gitsune attacked from above and below. The gambit failed, two of the dragon's heads obliterating the crystals with bursts of shadowy fire as the other six repelled the fox spirits. "**Amethyst-**GAH!"

Sakuyamon abandoned the attack she had been preparing and leapt desperately to the side as HiOrochimon suddenly leapt into motion, flying at her with his many maws opened wide and ready to rip her in two. The shamaness barely managed to avoid the snapping jaws, dodging past them and flying straight over the corrupted Deva's massive back. She realized her error a split second too late as HiOrochimon's tails lashed out at her, one of them defeating her desperate attempts to dodge and cutting a long, painful gash across the backs of her unarmoured thighs.

A strangled yelp escaped Rika's throat from within her data sphere, the girl feeling the blade-feather's attack as if it were her own flesh being cut. As a few droplets of blood drifted through the zero-gravity of the data sphere and into her vision, the redhead and her partner let out twin snarls of fury, Sakuyamon turning to face the eight lashing tails and spreading her arms as if she were inviting them to attack her.

"**Crystal…**" the shamaness began, tiny flickers of white light appearing around her outstretched hands as HiOrochimon took the bait and lashed out with all eight of his tails. "**SPHERE!**"

She had timed it perfectly. A transparent spherical shield appeared around Sakuyamon a split-second before the attacks struck home, slicing through the bladed appendages as it formed. Screams of agony left HiOrochimon's eight throats as each of his tails suddenly lost a good five feet in length, their severed tips flaring white and disintegrating into data as they were consumed by the energy of the Bio-merged partners' shield.

"What's the matter, big boy?" Sakuyamon teased as she floated out of reach of the mangled, wildly-thrashing tails. "Did the nasty little girl give you a booboo?"

"YOU WILL DIE SCREAMING AS GOBLIMON FEAST ON YOUR ENTRAILS!" the enraged HiOrochimon shrieked, flickers of black lightning appearing in the shadowy cloud that enshrouded him.

"Bring it on," the shamaness spat as she summoned more balls of violet light and her quartet of kuda-gitsune took up position in front of her.

"_We cannot keep this up for long," _Renamon admitted reluctantly to her Tamer. _"We are approximately equal to him in power but I believe that he has greater stamina. He is hurt, but not badly enough to tip the balance in our favour."_

"_Don't worry – I have a plan," _Rika replied as she watched the dragon's body language closely, searching for clues as to the direction his attack would come from. _"This guy's based on the original Orochimon, right? Well with the original, only one of his heads was real and the others were just decoys. If you destroyed the real head then you destroyed Orochimon."_

"_And you think that the same rule applies to this Digimon?"_

"_It's worth a shot."_

"_That it is. I assume you have a theory as to which head is the real one?"_

"_The Majiramon head," _the girl replied confidently. _"If this guy really was Majiramon at one point, that's gotta be as good a choice as any."_

"_Agreed."_

A wordless scream of hatred tore from HiOrochimon's throats along with another octet of fireballs. The barrage was poorly-aimed, however, and Sakuyamon twisted out of the way with contemptuous ease as she commanded her kuda-gitsune to attack with a thought, the attack not even managing to interrupt the charging of her Amethyst Wind attack. The fox spirits shot into action almost faster than HiOrochimon's eyes could follow, each fox rocketing towards a different head with fangs and claws ready to rend flesh and bone. Each of the targeted heads – the square-jawed one, the ram-horned one, the snake head and the odd, tetrahedral head – unleashed quick sprays of black fire, falling straight into the trap Sakuyamon had laid.

"**Amethyst Wind!**" she cried and launched over three hundred crystalline daggers at the Majiramon head, which now lay vulnerable and exposed as its fellows turned to snap at the passing kuda-gitsune. The amethysts flew out in a wide spread, their formation swiftly tightening as they closed on their target. Rika cursed to herself inside her data sphere as the dragon noticed the attack at the last possible second and the head with the round snout and fin on its chin whipped around into the path of the crystals, masses of black mist spilling from its open maw as it prepared to vomit up a stream of black fire.

It never got the chance. The tiniest flickers of flame had barely begun to appear around fin-chin's tonsils when the cloud of amethyst daggers slammed into the vulnerable flesh of its mouth. The round-snouted head slammed its jaws shut and jerked back, the remainder of the crystals embedding themselves in the unarmoured underside of its neck. An intense violet light spilled out of its mouth as it opened, letting out a horrendous scream that was mercifully cut short as every single one of the crystalline shards exploded simultaneously and reduced the wounded head to a fine, bloody mist. Seven more screams quickly tore from the throats of the remaining seven heads, however, as the agony of the head's destruction washed through HiOrochimon's nervous system, paralyzing him for a split-second.

A split-second was all Sakuyamon needed. Exploiting the miniscule window of opportunity, the shamaness set her vulpine familiars loose on the Majiramon head. The yellow kuda-gitsune took advantage of its newfound freedom from attack and darted away from the dragon's massive form before launching into an attack run, granting itself an extra ten metres or so to gather momentum before slamming into its target. The fox-spirit plunged into the side of the Majiramon head's neck at (appropriately enough) lightning speed, emerging from the far side in a spray of blood and shattered bone and all but severing the head in the process. A trio of vicious attacks from the other three spirits finished the job, sending the decapitated head plummeting to the ground with a look of shock frozen on its face. Sakuyamon let out a shout of triumph as the head struck the ground with a wet slap, watching eagerly to see if her theory had been proven correct.

For a few seconds, it looked like HiOrochimon was going to collapse, his remaining heads falling silent and jerking spasmodically as the black mist around his body grew thin. Just as Rika was starting to believe that her plan might have been successful, the six remaining heads turned to glare at her with indescribable malice.

"That…hurt…" they croaked in unison as their shadowy shroud began to thicken again.

"Good," Sakuyamon snapped in reply, a cold smirk appearing on her face as she fought to disguise her exhaustion. Overcharging her Amethyst Wind attack like that had cost her dearly, and the energy required to maintain her kuda-gitsune was taking its toll. "Maybe losing a couple of heads will cut your ego down to size, as well."

"Oh, you just keep laughing, little girl," HiOrochimon chuckled as the mist around the stumps of his wounded necks suddenly thickened until it was completely opaque. "You won't be laughing for much longer. **Kyoubou no Kage!**"

Six bolts of black fire tore from the dragon's mouths, hurtling towards the exhausted Sakuyamon too fast for her to dodge. The shamaness let out a desperate cry of "**Crystal Sphere!**", deflecting two poorly-aimed fireballs and blocking three solid hits. The sixth bolt broke through the overstrained shield and slammed into her chest armour, sending the Bio-merged Digimon flying through the air with a scream of pain.

"_Rika, are you alright?" _Renamon asked as her Tamer clutched her chest in agony, coughing and wheezing inside her data sphere.

"_I'm fine," _the girl gasped in reply as their kuda-gitsune faded away, the energy required to sustain them having been drained by the Crystal Sphere spell. _"If that hadn't hit us on the armour, though…"_

A sudden burst of maniacal laughter brought Sakuyamon back to the present, and she looked up at her opponent with a sense of horror. "What…but that's…" the shamaness gasped as new vertebrae suddenly materialized at the end of each of HiOrochimon's neck stumps, more following in quick succession until the entire skeletal structure of his missing necks and heads had been reformed. Cordlike muscles soon started to emerge slowly from the cloud that now ringed the skeletal neck like a collar, entwining themselves with the bare bones as they reconstructed the musculature.

"Now, you see the hopelessness of your situation," HiOrochimon cackled with his six flesh-covered heads. "This is the true power of His Divine Majesty Zhuqiaomon! Gaze upon the awesome might of the Holy Sovereign, and weep, for soon I shall lead Him to this portal and your world shall tremble before Him!"

A small smirk reappeared on Sakuyamon's face as the implications of the last section of HiOrochimon's inane rant struck her, the spark of hope granting her limbs renewed strength. "So, you're saying that Zhuqiaomon doesn't know where the portal is?"

A growl of irritation left the dragon's throats as he realized his mistake, a wave of darkness washing out from his body to wrack his opponent with agony.

"I'll take that as a yes," the shamaness said through gritted teeth, her smirk growing wider as the pain receded. "So, all that I need to do to stop him from getting to Earth is kill you?"

"Hah!" the Deva scoffed as his wounded heads were returned to full health. "That is not likely to happen any time soon. Every time you remove one of my heads, it will simply grow back. Not only are you incapable of killing me, you are also unable to reduce my fighting strength in any meaningful way. Such are the blessings bestowed upon the righteous! So long as one head remains to preach the virtues of the Sovereign, his brothers shall rise again before you can slay him!"

As the dragon cackled maniacally, Sakuyamon rose slowly to her feet, using her staff as a crutch. Remembering Sage's earlier advice, Rika and Renamon turned to the last source of power left to them – the ocean of compassion that was wearing down their emotional barriers and threatening to engulf their minds.

"Then the eight shall fall as one before the **Twin Blades of Beauty…**" she chanted, twin rings of pink light appearing around her waist as she floated into the air. HiOrochimon's laughter cut off suddenly as he realized his opponent was still very much in the fight and that her chant was in fact an attack. Black mist gathered around his mouths as he charged an attack in a desperate attempt to interrupt the shamaness's spell.

It was too little, too late.

"…**and Truth!**"

The twin rings of light flared brighter and snapped where they overlapped behind Sakuyamon, leaving two blades of light overlapping in a stretched-out X-shape over a dozen metres wide. The blades slammed into HiOrochimon, tearing through all eight of his serpentine necks like paper before he could even announce the name of his attack. As the dragon's decapitated heads fell to the floor and his body thrashed in its death throes Sakuyamon gripped her vajra khakkhara in both hands, tendrils of amethyst light coiling around her hands and the massive golden staff.

"**AMETHYST MANDALA!**" she roared as she dropped out of the sky, slamming the pointed butt of her staff into the ground as she channelled the compassion inside her through its golden form.

A wave of violet light flowed out from the shamaness and washed over everything within a hundred metres, including HiOrochimon, the mist-shrouded rails of the Ark and the wounded Tamers and Digimon. As the light faded, an intricate mandala pattern formed entirely of pink and violet light materialized on the desert sand centred on Sakuyamon, covering the area the initial light wave had washed over. Everything within the mandala started to glow with a violet light, the wounds of the Tamers and Digimon sealing themselves in a matter of seconds.

After Lopmon's wounds were healed, the light around her concentrated itself around her forehead, an inch-wide ball of angry orange fire suddenly emerging from the skin beneath the concentrated light. Suzie and Lopmon stared wide-eyed at the fireball, the Digimon hearing Renamon and Rika's voices whisper softly in her mind as it disintegrated into data.

"_This thing calls out to Zhuqiaomon, allowing him to track your movements. It is how he has been following us."_

"I…I didn't know…" the rabbit croaked, horrified that she could have brought such pain to her friends, intentionally or not.

"_We know. It is not your fault, Lopmon. You could not have known."_

The light flared brightly as it covered the shadowy corpse of HiOrochimon, the violet radiance dissolving and purifying the mass of corrupted code until it had been reduced to the free-floating data normally left after a Digimon's demise. The rails leading to the Ark began to glow too, the shadows covering them dissipating along with the web of shadow holding the Ark in place high above the ground. A lone tendril of light snaked away from the rails and towards a seemingly-random point in the sky, the air blurring around it as it found the tracer program sent by Hypnos and crossed the great divide between the worlds.

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Japan, Earth

Ryo's mind was literally seconds away from collapsing and giving in to his partner's repeated assaults when it happened. The static-filled screens of the Hypnos dome suddenly went black and then erupted with a violet light so bright that it should have been painful to look at – yet Ryo, Jeri, Leomon and the adults felt nothing but an odd sense of calm as the light washed over them.

Cyberdramon, on the other hand, was in agony.

Tendrils of light snaked their way down from the screens to wrap around the dragon's head, his mental defences weakening rapidly as roars of agony escaped from his fanged mouth.

"_Now, Ryo," _two voices the boy recognized as Rika and Renamon's whispered in his mind as Cyberdramon fell to his knees. _"Strike now, while his defences are weak. Drive back the darkness and help him take back control."_

"Rika? Is that-"

"_No time! Do it now, we can't keep this up for long…"_

Ryo did as they ordered and launched an all-out assault on his partner's mind through their bond, shattering his defences with ease and reaching out to the single spark of light floating in the darkness that lurked beyond them. The teenager felt the violet light wash over him and flow through him as he made contact with the spark, which suddenly flared brighter and started growing rapidly.

"_Cyberdramon? Cyberdramon, can you hear me? Cyberdramon?"_

"R…Ryo?" the massive dragon groaned as he struggled to stand up.

"CYBERDRAMON!" the boy cheered and ran to his partner's side, slashing a Seed of Health card with barely a thought. "You're back! I can't believe…I thought I'd lost you…"

"How could you lose…something as big…as me?" the massive dragon chuckled wearily as he de-Digivolved to Monodramon, collapsing into his Tamer's arms and sinking into unconsciousness.

* * *

Digital World, Desert Level

As the light from Sakuyamon's mandala faded away Takato climbed carefully to his feet, regarding his right arm with a sense of wonder. The limb had popped back into its socket of its own accord as soon as the light from Sakuyamon's spell had washed over him, the pain rapidly fading away to nothing.

"Whoa…" the boy breathed as he rolled his shoulder and flexed his fingers experimentally.

"TAKATOMOOOOOOOOONNNNN!" Guilmon called excitedly, his voice overflowing with joy as he barrelled into his Tamer and knocked him to the ground.

"Guilmon!" Takato laughed as he struggled to throw his partner off of his chest, the saurian's weight making it difficult for him to breathe. "Can't…breathe…"

"Oh, sorry…" the little dinosaur apologised and climbed off of the boy. "I'm so glad you're okay, Takatomon! When I saw you on the floor and with your arm bent all funny I got really scared and I wanted to come and help but I couldn't…but then Rika and Renamon made that pretty light and that made us all better!"

"Hey, slow down boy," Takato chuckled at his partner's excited babbling, patting him on the nose affectionately. "You should try taking a breath every once in a while, or at this rate you're gonna run out of air!"

A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye caught the Tamer's attention and he turned to see Sakuyamon limping towards him and the rest of the Tamers. The shamaness looked exhausted – her chest armour was cracked and deformed, her bodysuit was torn in several places and she was walking stiffly, favouring her right leg and leaning heavily on her staff. The battered Digimon wore a tired smile on her face despite her wounds, a smile that remained in place as her form was illuminated with a brilliant white light and she fell to her knees, her outline blurring and reforming until it had resolved itself into the twin forms of Rika and Renamon. The two partners appeared side-by-side, both of them kneeling on the ground in the same position as their Mega form had been. Renamon swayed dangerously forwards but managed to keep her balance while her Tamer leaned forwards, supporting her weight with her arms while she fought against a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea.

"Rika?" Takato called as he approached the girl and her partner, a hint of concern clouding his mind. "Are you okay?"

"Better than you could ever imagine, Gogglehead," she replied, trying to rise to her feet before falling drunkenly onto one knee. "Good to see you walking around again."

"Yeah, thanks for that," the boy chuckled as he helped her to her feet, feeling mildly surprised when she didn't protest or insist that she could do it herself. "Looks like you patched me up again…"

"I thought I told you not to make this a regular thing…" the redhead said with a mock glare.

"Well, at least your bedside manner's improved a little," he joked, earning a small smile in reward for his efforts.

"RIKA!" a voice suddenly cried out ecstatically as a vague blur about three and a half feet tall dashed across Takato's vision, colliding with the girl's legs hard enough that she would have been bowled over had Renamon not reached out with one paw to steady her. "I was so scared! First I was in one place and then I was somewhere else, and then that big snake thing appeared, and then it started talking and-"

"It's okay," Rika whispered softly, dropping to her knees once again and pulling her younger sister into a hug. "He's gone now, we beat him. We can all go home now."

Right on cue, a soft thud followed by a faint chime echoed through the desert as the Ark touched down at last. "Three minutes to Ark departure," a computerized voice announced, prompting the redhead to quickly extricate herself from the hug and rise shakily to her feet.

"I believe that's our ride," Renamon noted as the two girls set off toward the glass box at a jog, her sensitive ears pricking up as she heard Cam describing to Gaomon, Steph and Hawkmon exactly what they had missed in an awestruck tone.

"_It sounds like we made quite an impression," _the kitsune chuckled telepathically to her Tamer, shaking her head in irritation as she realized that the strange fuzziness weighing down her thoughts and her limbs was also clouding her mental link with Rika.

_This feeling of…__**intoxication **__is most unpleasant, _she growled to herself. _I will never understand how humans could enjoy willingly inflicting sensations like this on themselves. I can barely even walk straight!_

* * *

Kirkfield Park, England – 4:59p.m.

"Try calling him again!" Jaarin suggested to her brother Rinchei as he paced nervously outside the old sewers containing the portal, staring intently at the screen of his mobile phone. The two teenagers had been sent out of the sewers by their mother about a minute ago to try and call their father, as nobody's phone could get a signal from underground and none of the adults were willing to interrupt their vigil of the portal. Unfortunately, leaving the sewers did nothing to aid their attempts at communication.

"There's still no signal," he sighed, taking deep breaths in an attempt to retain some semblance of calm. "It's like there's something jamming us. It's gotta have something to do with that darkness we saw on the…hey, wait! I've got signal now!"

"Then what're you waiting for? Call dad!" his sister ordered, but Rinchei had already pressed the redial button.

_[__"Hello? Rinchei, is that you?"__] _Janyuu Wong's voice asked from the other end of the line.

"Yeah it's me, dad. What the hell's going on? We were watching Henry and the others on the laptop and this weird black thing just exploded in front of them!"

_["I know, I saw it too. Whatever it was, it took out the tracer and froze up the Ark. I've regained control of the Ark, but I don't know what-"]_

"Dad?" Rinchei asked with a worried frown as the man suddenly fell silent. "Dad, are you there?"

_["THEY'RE ALIVE!"] _came the joyous reply, shouted loud enough for Rinchei to flinch away from his phone instinctively before his father's words sunk in.

"They're okay? Are you sure?"

_["They're okay! They're all okay!"] _Janyuu laughed down the phone._ ["The Ark will be lifting off in just under three minutes and from the looks of things, it'll take them about five minutes after that to cross the barrier plane."]_

"Alright!" the eighteen-year-old cheered and turned to his sister. "They're coming home, Jaarin! They're all coming home!"

A massive smile split the girl's face as she turned and ran back into the sewers, cheering and laughing every step of the way as she went to give her mother the good news.

* * *

The Tamers arrived home to a hero's welcome. Whoops and cheers greeted the Ark as it emerged from the portal and disintegrated into data, tears of relief streaming down the faces of many of the assembled parents.

Maria Wong ran forward to embrace her two youngest children with a shout of joy, Suzie swiftly joining her in crying tears of happiness as Jaarin and Rinchei joined in on the group hug. Steph's parents – a clean-shaven man with short, dark hair and a tall, blonde-haired woman – gave a similar reaction to their adopted daughter's return, embracing her in a fierce hug that was punctuated by tearful, nigh-incomprehensible babbling. Sam rushed eagerly into the arms of her adopted grandmother, while Rika found herself robbed of the ability to breathe by the iron grip of one of her mother's infamous Death Hugs. As the redhead tried to return the hug as best she could, Takato found himself being practically bowled off of his feet by his own mother, who showered his forehead with kisses while babbling on about her "baby" coming home. Cam, meanwhile, was pulled into a much more gentle and tender embrace by his mother, the two of them simply standing there in silence for a while.

The family hugs began to break up one by one. The Wong family's group hug lasted the longest, somehow managing to entrap both Lopmon and Terriermon before Maria finally disentangled herself from her children. A few minutes later the children were back in their respective homes being interrogated by their parents and tucking into their first real, non-digital meal in two weeks.

They had stood against the self-proclaimed overlord of the Digital World and won. They had defeated everything he had thrown at them in their quest to rescue their friends. And best of all, every single one of the children had been promised another week off school to recover from the ordeals of the past week.

Life was good.


	39. Epilogue

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.

And here's the epilogue. Sorry for the rather long wait, but I've been ill more times in the last seven weeks than in the rest of the last seven years put together. Anyway, it's only about 1,800 words (I did say it would be a short epilogue), but here it is. Thanks for reading and keep an eye on my profile for updates on Book 2 of Taming the Third Lion.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Monday 29th November – 11:47a.m.

Kirkfield Park, England

"Rika, look out!" Takato cried suddenly, the redhead ducking as a snowball sailed over her head. A snarl of irritation left the girl's throat as her own snowball went horribly wide, slamming into a tree trunk several metres away from her intended target.

"Damn it, Gogglehead," Rika growled as she took cover behind a nearby bush. "Would it have killed you to warn me that Cam and Steph were this good at snowball fights _before _I challenged them?"

"I tried, but you wouldn't listen!" the boy protested as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes, leaning out from behind the tree trunk he was using as cover to take aim at Cam with the snowball in his right hand. Just as he was about to throw the ice-cold projectile, the boy caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, turning to look at it just in time to catch a snowball right between the eyes.

Today was meant to have been the Tamers' first day back at school, but thanks to two days of heavy snowfall, they had been granted the day off. Cam and Steph had decided to take full advantage of the situation by tricking Rika into challenging them to a snowball fight, Cam revelling in the chance to get revenge on the redhead for all the times she had beaten him at cards and on video games. Takato had been roped in by Rika to help even out the teams, though his input seemed to be doing little to help stave off their inevitable defeat.

"That's it, I give up!" Takato moaned and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender as he shook his head to clear his vision. "You win again."

"Damn right we do!" Cam chuckled and emerged from behind a small bush, Steph dropping out of a nearby tree to join him. "What about you, Rika? Are you gonna admit defeat, too?"

"Doesn't look like I have much choice, now that it's two against one…" the redhead grumbled with a mock glare at her begoggled friend. "Nice work, Goggles."

"I told you this wouldn't end well…"

"Wow, what's this strange, new feeling?" Cam wondered with an ear-to-ear grin. "Could it be the taste of victory? It's been so long since I beat Rika at something, I can barely recognize it."

"Yeah, yeah …" the defeated girl sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it. I'm still gonna totally destroy you at Armored Core every time we play."

"One of these days I'll get lucky," the boy shrugged and glanced at his watch. "Man, kicking arse really helps you build up an appetite. I'm gonna go get some lunch, meet you guys back at Guilmon's den at about twelve-thirty?"

"Sounds good," Steph nodded, blushing bright crimson as her stomach suddenly rumbled loudly. "Actually, I think I'd better get something to eat, too. See you guys later."

"See you," Takato replied, turning to Rika as Cam and Steph set off towards their respective homes. "Hmmm…I think Henry said that he'd be stuck over at his grandparents' house until after lunchtime, so I guess it's just us for a while."

"Bad luck for Brainiac, getting stranded all the way over in Bradford," the girl chuckled and shook her head.

"Yeah, missing out on getting slaughtered by Cam and Steph…" he grinned and rolled his eyes. "So, how are the Digimon doing?"

"Well…" Rika began as she gazed in the direction of her house and reached out to touch minds with her partner. "Surprisingly enough, they've all managed to stay on my mum's private property, so they're not in danger of being seen by anyone. Renamon's been roped into a snowball fight and is pretending she doesn't enjoy it…and I think she just got knocked off of the branch she was sat on by Calumon."

"How did the little guy manage that?" the boy laughed.

"Renamon insists it was just luck. The guy is pretty well camouflaged in snow, though – at least, as long as he hides his ears."

"You wanna go join in?" Takato suggested with a small shrug. "It might be fun to actually have a chance of winning for once."

"Sure. If we circle around a bit we should be able to get the drop on Renamon."

"Wait, why are we ambushing Renamon?" he asked with a puzzled frown.

"Because the look on her face will be priceless," the redhead replied with a smirk and set off walking.

"Heh, good enough for me," the begoggled Tamer chuckled and fell into step a couple of paces behind her. The pair walked without speaking for about a minute before Takato spoke up again. "Hey, Rika, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replied with a glance back over her shoulder.

"When you were Bio-merged…what did it feel like? I mean, Steph couldn't remember much of what she did when she was Valdurmon, and you weren't making a lot of sense on the Ark back from the Digital World."

"Yeah, I was pretty exhausted," Rika agreed. "It was mostly that last move I used. I didn't expect it to take so much out of me…and I mean _me_, not Sakuyamon." The girl paused briefly to try as she tried to find a way to put her experience into words. "It felt…incredible. It was like Sakuyamon's body was my body, but at the same time I was floating in a data sphere inside us…or her, or whatever. I could see through both of our eyes at the same time."

"Cool," Takato breathed, blinking suddenly as a question occurred to him. "So you didn't get that weird feeling Steph did? Like she wasn't controlling her body when they were merging?"

"A little," she nodded. "I mean, most of the merging was just pure instinct, but I still felt in control up until I started floating in mid-air."

"Yeah?" he asked with a thoughtful frown. "Weird. Maybe it's something to do with you and Renamon having used your bond before you Bio-merged."

"I guess that's as likely as anything else," the redhead shrugged.

"Yeah…so, what was it like having all the power of a Mega-level Digimon?"

"Amazing," Rika replied simply. "I could think faster, move faster, hit harder than I thought was possible. Using all that magic was so…it just felt so _right_. And then-"

Takato frowned as the girl suddenly stopped in her tracks, her mouth snapping shut as a light blush appeared on her face. "And then…what?" he asked.

"I…uh…" she began hesitantly. "Look, if you ever tell _anyone _what I'm about to tell you, I'll let Renamon use you for target practice."

"My lips are sealed," the boy promised solemnly.

"Okay…" Rika mumbled and took a deep breath. "When I was Bio-merged I could feel this…this _need_ to help things. I felt like I needed to protect everyone and stop all their pain and…stuff. I wasn't even that angry at HiOrochimon, either. I just felt…" Once again, she struggled to find the right word to describe what she had felt. She glanced at Takato with a pleading look as she sifted through her vocabulary, and was struck by inspiration as he opened his mouth to reply.

"Love!" the girl blurted, flushing bright crimson as she realized what she had said. "I mean, friendship love! Not the kind where, um…you know…I mean-"

"Hey, slow down! I get it," Takato laughed and raised his hands as if in surrender. "Come on, we'd better get moving or the snowball fight's gonna be over before we get there."

"Uh, yeah," Rika agreed, indescribably grateful for the change of subject. "This way!"

Takato grinned and shook his head slowly as he fell into step behind her once again. _Man, Rika talking about love? I'd never have thought it was possible a few months ago, _he thought with an internal chuckle. _Heh, I think it was as much of a surprise to her, as well. She's kinda cute when she's embarrassed…_

_GAH! Where the hell did __**that **__come from?_

* * *

Digital World, Sovereign Level – 5:32p.m.

Seven days after the death of Majiramon, Makuramon finally plucked up the courage to report to his lord. Zhuqiaomon had gone mad with rage when he heard about the failure of his latest plot, the flames of his wrath reducing his opulent tower to rubble and scattering the debris over the surrounding five miles. The only part of the tower to survive the explosion was the Sovereign's underground lab, which had been built in the days before the fall of Yggdrasil and was designed to resist attack from all of the Royal Knights simultaneously. Nearly a hundred of the Sovereign's ForgeTankmon guards had been destroyed in the explosion, and Makuramon once again gave himself a mental pat on the back for having the sense to send a messenger in his place to deliver the bad news to the irritable phoenix.

_Hopefully the news I bring today will improve his mood, _the monkey thought warily as he strode across the shattered remains of what had once been the Sovereign's audience chamber. Zhuqiaomon himself stood unmoving at the centre of an enormous, black scorch-mark, flames continuing to burn around his clawed feet despite the lack of anything to fuel them.

"My lord, I bring news from your servants in The Forge," the Deva began, waiting for his master to reply.

"How many dead?" Zhuqiaomon asked after several minutes of silence.

"Ninety-six ForgeTankmon, plus the Goblimon messenger," Makuramon reported hesitantly.

"How long until their replacements are ready?"

"That is what I came to tell you," the monkey answered, continuing when he was fixed with an irritated glare. "The new foreman, SkullGreymon, reports that he has achieved a breakthrough on Project Gilead."

"Gilead?" the Sovereign exclaimed with a shocked look. "But that project was a failure! Research was abandoned years ago, before the fall of the Royal Knights!"

"SkullGreymon was searching through the old database and found the details of our research, Great One. He managed to correct a few errors and put the project back on track," Makuramon explained. "He's remarkably efficient."

"Indeed…" Zhuqiaomon muttered and stared at the ground thoughtfully before launching into a bout of maniacal laughter. "Oh, this is MARVELLOUS! Tell me, how long will it be until everything is ready?"

"Taking into account the time needed to replenish the Genesis Guard, it will take approximately three months, oh Sacred One. The plan will commence as soon as you give the order."

"Then it is given! Tell SkullGreymon I want Gilead completed within _two _months, or I'll have his head mounted on my wall," the colossal phoenix cackled. "And get me some slaves, I need a new tower!"

_Soon…soon I shall have my vengeance, _Zhuqiaomon promised himself as he felt his rage settling down, leaving him with a clear head for the first time in a week. _I am not so arrogant as to be unable to learn from my mistakes. Gambling so much on the success of HiOrochimon was a mistake, and I intend to rectify it. What's that old human phrase? Something about eggs and baskets…_


End file.
